Letting Go
by cance
Summary: Sakura pushes herself to become stronger and asks an old friend to help, but soemthing unexpected happens. Will she be able to let go of the past and recognize what she has now? KakashiXSakura [COMPLETE]
1. Chapter 1

**It's my first fan fiction so go easy on me. I hope you enjoy and please review. I encourage all reviews because I really want to improve as a writer. Enjoy!!**

**Cance**

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Sakura crouched lower to the branch she was perched on while tucking a stray lock of pink hair behind her ear. It was another hot day in Konoha and she could feel a thin film of sweat gather on her skin while she waited patiently in the cover of the trees. Sakura's emerald green eyes studied the man sitting lazily in the shade of a large tree reading no doubt an Icha Icha book and a small giggle escaped from her lips while she relished in the thought of surprising him. Sakura quickly stifled it. _You won't be able to catch him if you don't pull it together _she bitterly thought to herself, but was relieved when the man made no signs of hearing her. Sakura steadied her breathing and launched herself from the tree with a great force and speed while removing a kunai from her side pouch. She released the kunai from her grasp with accuracy and precision, but before it could pin her target he vanished. Sakura landed softly to the ground and froze when she felt the cool steel of a blade pressed against her throat.

"It does not do you well to giggle if you intend to take someone by surprise." He whispered slyly into her ear and Sakura frowned slightly.

"Well maybe that was part of my plan" She replied unconvincingly as she giggled again when her clone attacked the man from behind. Sakura sidled from his grasp to see her clone throw another kunai at him, but the masked man caught it between his fingers easily. He dispatched the clone with the kunai and quickly vanished. The hot sun beat down on Sakura's neck while she waited anticipating his next attack. She was now twenty and since her training had begun with him she had watched and studied his every move. She was no longer his student but she had fought with him a number of times and Sakura was sure she would be able to predict his next attack. A smile graced her lips as hands sprung from the earth beneath her and she quickly dodged them while pulling another kunai from her pouch. Before she was able to release it Sakura found her arms locked across her body and a man chuckling slightly behind her. "Oooohh Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said angrily and stamped her foot while pouting. "That was not fair." She whined and continued to pout.

"It never is." And Kakashi chuckled again. Sakura sighed slightly at her daftness for falling for one of his simple tricks but she was not willing to give up just yet. She pooled her chakra to her feet while lacing her left foot behind his knee. Sakura felt his leg give a little under the force she applied and used her other foot to propel them into the nearest tree. It groaned with the sudden force of their impact and Kakashi's grip loosened slightly. She slipped from his grasp and prepared to deliver another attack while pinning Kakashi with her defiant gaze. His visible eye crinkled slightly from a smile and Sakura narrowed her jade eyes dangerously at him.

"I won't go easy on you." She voiced with a mocking tone and let a devious grin escape from her lips. Sakura gasped slightly when Kakashi suddenly appeared in front of her throwing an attack her way. She barely had time to block it before he was giving her another one. She marvelled at his speed, but knew Kakashi was still going easy on her and Sakura cursed at herself for how weak she truly was. She didn't have a chance to lay a single attack on him and felt herself being pinned to the ground by Kakashi. Sakura struggled fiercely, but Kakashi locked her arms behind her back with his left hand and held down her legs with his feet while straddling her. He pulled his Icha Icha book from his pocket with his free hand and began to read waiting for Sakura to admit defeat. She sighed loudly conceding and listened to her heavy ragged breaths while inhaling the sweet scent of the grass. She noticed that Kakashi's breathing was normal. _You__'__re so pathetic..he didn__'__t even break a sweat with this _she bitterly thought to herself.

"I win." Kakashi mumbled not taking his eye away from the novel. He released her arms and found a spot beside her still reading his dirty book.

"Apparently." Sakura muttered sullenly while letting out a heavy groan rolling on to her back and turning her head to study their surroundings. "I..." Sakura paused slightly studying the damage to the tree that she inflicted. "I came to ask you for a favour." She mumbled quietly still sulking from her lack of insight and strength. His onyx eye skittered from the page he was reading giving her an intense gaze. Sakura turned to Kakashi returning his gaze and propped herself onto her elbows. She continued to stare while her mind writhed with his possible answer. "Oh my god what time is it?" She asked suddenly panicked. Kakashi shrugged his shoulders as he returned his attention back to his book. "Shit it's almost two. They might have all ready left." Sakura muttered darkly as she started to sprint away from the small clearing. "I'll talk to you later." She yelled back to Kakashi. _Please don't be gone yet Sasuke. _Sakura desperately thought to herself jumping from tree to tree with a brutal speed.


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura skidded to a halt in front of the gates to see a small group of ninja's all ready making their way down the road. She cursed to herself for being late and clutched her tight chest trying to calm her breathing when she noticed one of the men turn back towards the village. Sasuke caught her gaze giving her an intense stare and Sakura could feel a small blush rise to her cheeks. He gave her a small nod of acknowledgment and her lips twitched into a coy smile. Sasuke turned continuing his journey and Sakura could feel her heart ache watching him disappear from view.

"Oiy I'm surprised you were late." A devilish voice yelled out and she turned to see Naruto bouncing eagerly towards her with a large grin plastered to his face. He stopped beside her resting a warm arm over her shoulders. "Man it's bloody hot today. Lets go get a drink." He said with a small wink and began to pull her from the gates.

"It's only two in the afternoon." Sakura said incredulously quirking her eyebrow. "And one drink with you turns into one to many." Naruto let out a loud laugh pushing his blond hair away from his face.

"So. We'll call it a going away drink for Sasuke." He replied blue eyes full of mischief continuing to lead their way through the crowded street. "Oh come on. It will help take your mind off of things." He continued saying seeing Sakura's disapproving look. She gave him a harsh look but wavered when Naruto pulled his face into a pout.

"Oh fine. But you're doing most of the buying." She finally agreed giving into his pleading expression. Naruto let out a loud cheer startling some nearby people and gave her another big grin.

Sakura soon found herself seated in the back corner of one of the popular pubs downing drink after drink with Naruto. They ordered some food considering that they would be there for awhile reminiscing about old times. Since Sasuke had returned almost everything had gone back to normal between them. Sakura had grown closer to Naruto in the time that Sasuke was gone realizing how good of a friend he truly was. She had turned to him and even Kakashi for comfort and they were able to help hold her life together. Sakura's heart tightened slightly as she thought of Sasuke and how dark he had become. They had grown closer since his return and had a bond that was unbreakable, but Sakura could feel herself slipping away from Sasuke. She wanted to be with him in every way possible, but he never gave her the chance. More of their old friends joined their small table attracted to Naruto's infectious laughter and the likely hood of getting a free drink. Sakura mostly listened, happy to be distracted from her current thoughts and grinned intently at all the stories being passed around. Sakura was surprised when she let her gaze wander to see the pub completely full. She looked at her watch only to find that her eyes couldn't focus and became angry.

"Naruto." She muttered to him still trying to see the miniscule hands on her watch. He didn't respond. "NARUTO." Sakura yelled giving him a hard elbow in the ribs.

"Ow what Sakura?" He asked slurring his words slightly.

"I can't see what time it is." She said sweetly to him holding her wrist in front of his face. Naruto blinked in confusion and suddenly started laughing.

"Neither can I." Naruto's boisterous voice rang out turning away from Sakura and continuing to talk to the flushed Hinata beside him. Sakura scowled at him slightly and began to make her way from the bench.

"I think it's time I home myself walk." Sakura muttered pausing slightly. She shook her head roughly. "Naruto you got me way to drunk. Goodnight." She said giggling madly and giving a small wave to everyone around the table. Sakura could hear Naruto laughing loudly again.

"See you tomorrow." He yelled to her. She cringed at the thought of tomorrow but stopped abruptly when she saw Kakashi sitting at a table with Genma and some other people she couldn't recognize at the moment. Sakura pushed her way through the crowd to stop at his table swaying slightly where she stood.

"Umm Kakashi-sensei could I talk to you for a moment?" Sakura asked timidly trying to keep the room from spinning. She could hear the scrape of a chair and the feel of Kakashi's hand on her back leading her through the pub to stop by the window. "I was wondering..." She stopped abruptly looking out the window to see that it was dark. _Oh my god when did it become dark. How long have I been here? _She thought to herself surprised. Sakura heard Kakashi call her name and brought her thoughts back to the present. "Oh right umm yeah could I fight you?" She mumbled quietly to him. Sakura looked to see a blank expression on his face which prompted her to continue. "This is really hard to explain while your drunk, but I need help with my taijutsu. I want to join ANBU but I don't think I can and I want you to help me and tell me if I am ready or not." Sakura giggled loudly as she continued to babble. "I won't take up much of your time and it could be like old times." She finished hoping she didn't slur her words to much. Kakashi gave her a slight nod. "So is that a yes?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"Yeah." A large grin escaped from Sakura's lips.

"I thought you were going home?" An obnoxious Naruto yelled from across the pub. Sakura's expression quickly turned into a sour one as she glared at him.

"I am now shut up." She yelled angrily to him. Sakura turned and started to make her way through the crowd towards the door stumbling slightly.

The cool air caressed her skin as she left the pub and the deafening noise was muffled through the thick closed door. Sakura stumbled through the street only to stop and let out a groan when she discovered she was going the wrong way. She quickly turned running into something hard and bounced to the ground.

"Ow." She mumbled rubbing her forward trying to focus on the person standing in front of her. Sakura could see the silver hair in the moonlight and a slanted eye giving her a quizzical look. "Way two many Kakashi's to deal with right now." Sakura giggled quietly trying to make the three Kakashi's turn into one. He extended a gloved hand to her and pulled her from the street. "Ughh I can barely handle one of you. Imagine if there truly were three of you." She laughed not able to contain her glee any longer while brushing the dirt from her pants. Sakura pointed herself in the right direction and headed off towards her apartment, but stopped when she noticed Kakashi was following. "What are you doing?" She asked grabbing on to a lamp post for support.

"Walking you home." His voice was quiet and held a slight chuckle from her current state.

"I don't need your help." She slurred peering down the street to make sure it was the right one. She continued stumbling only to trip on her own feet and began to fall to the ground when Kakashi caught her by the back of her shirt steadying her.

"Your actions would suggest otherwise." He replied letting out a small chuckle. Sakura scrunched her face in anger.

"There was a rock." She yelled at him pointing at the ground to see none. Sakura scoffed and continued heading down the street only to be caught by Kakashi every time she stumbled. "I don't want you to ruin your night because you think you have to take care of me." She said angrily pulling herself from his grasp. "I can take care of myself." Her voice was still laced with anger as old feelings began to surface. She hated how everyone thought she was weak and couldn't take care of herself, because she knew it was true.

"It's late and I'm on my way home anyways." Kakashi continued oblivious to her change in mood.

"Well then go and leave me alone." She slurred crossing her arms defiantly to him shaking her pink hair away from her face. She could feel herself becoming angrier with every thought of the past and how she always needed to be saved and just wanted to be alone at the moment. Sakura continued walking swaying dangerously now and cursed out loud. "Damn that Naruto and his stupid drinking games. You think I would learn the first time." Sakura slurred exasperated.

She gave up the losing battle of walking and clutched on to another lamp post for balance. Sakura felt the anger melt away as she concentrated more on standing and felt her happy buzz return. She giggled madly as she felt her body slide down the post to rest on the ground and she looked up at Kakashi giving him a goofy grin. "Looks like I need your help after all." Sakura managed sheepishly feeling her heart ache at that statement. To distract herself she laid on the sidewalk trying to focus on the stars. "Sorry." She mumbled quietly to Kakashi. "I don't mean to be such a pain." And she returned her attention back to the night sky.

Sakura could hear the rustle of fabric as Kakashi sat himself beside her and they slipped into a comfortable silence. Her eyes drooped dangerously as a wave of exhaustion swept over her.

"Why do you want to join ANBU?" Kakashi's asked breaking the silence between them. Sakura continued to focus on the stars in the sky remembering the day before.

_The sun shone brightly warming Sakura's body giving her the courage to say what was needed. _

"_Why won't you let me be with you?" She asked quietly not daring to look away from him. "I know you want me." Sakura said a little hesitantly. She could see the pain in his eyes as he turned to leave. Sakura wrapped her arms around his chest as she drew herself near him stopping him. "Stop running away. Let me in for once Sasuke." Her voice was pleading as she buried her face into his back feeling the tears come to her eyes. _

"_Yes Sakura, I want you." Sasuke whispered quietly hardly believing that he was admitting his true feelings for once. He turned pulling her into a deep embrace as he let his head rest in the crook of her neck. "But I can't be with you. I need someone who is strong to help me revive the Uchiha clan back to it's former glory. I have my duty first to my family." His voice was laced with agony as he said this and Sakura could no longer hold back the tears. His words had cut through her and hurt her deeply, but she knew it was the truth. He pulled out of the embrace softly lifting her chin so she would meet his gaze. "I don't" He paused and she could see the anguish on his face. "I wouldn't be able to let you go if I had you." Sasuke stopped letting his thumb trace over her soft lips and Sakura could feel her knees buckle slightly from his touch. "I'm sorry." His voice was full of regret, but he pulled himself from her grasp abruptly and left her standing stunned and alone. _

"Because I want to be strong." Sakura's voice was heavy with the sadness she felt.

"You are strong." Sakura let out a hollow laugh and turned to study Kakashi's face surprised to see no hint of a smile anywhere. She let out a heavy sigh and turned her attention back to the night sky.

"To bad there aren't really three moons. It would be quite beautiful." She mumbled quietly feeling her eyes droop again. They sat in silence once again and Sakura struggled in vain to stay awake. The exhaustion over took her and she settled into a peaceful sleep knowing she would be safe with Kakashi. He shook his head slightly chuckling to himself. He pulled Sakura into his arms cradling her tight against his chest and headed towards her apartment. He could feel the warmth of her body seeping through his clothes to his skin while something ached inside of him and he inhaled deeply taking in her sweet cheery scent. Kakashi arrived at her door and brought his knee to rest up against it while letting her legs dangle over his. His hand reached to the ledge above the door and he located the spare key.

"I thought I told you to move this." Kakashi whispered quietly. Once inside the apartment he looked to see that it was only slightly cluttered and anatomy books were spread all over the living room. He arrived in her bedroom pulling back the covers of her bed and laid her down gently. Kakashi brushed some of her stray pink locks away from her porcelain skin, while looking at her supple lips and imagining the feel of them against his own. He shook his head slightly. _I never should have agreed to help her _he thought darkly to himself and pulled the covers over Sakura's small body.

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Hope this wasn't to crappy but I enjoyed writing it. Was thinking I should do...research...to see how a drunk person would stumble around. Anyways review as always all types welcome.

Cance


	3. Chapter 3

Sakura groaned slightly when she awoke to a throbbing headache. She squinted her eyes from the bright sunlight pouring into her room and rolled over in protest. She spotted a glass of water and two aspirin sitting on her nightstand and sat up slowly puzzled by their presence. Sakura groaned louder when memories of the night before flooded into her mind. She quickly swallowed the pills sinking back into her covers throwing the blanket over her head. "How do you expect anyone to take you seriously if you pass out on a sidewalk?" Sakura muttered angrily to herself. "I'm going to kill Naruto." The phone rang and Sakura winced from the pain it caused to her head. The machine clicked on and she could her Ino's voice echoing through her small apartment.

"Hey forehead girl what are you doing tonight? I just bought some new clothes and I need to test them out. Call me later." Ino's voice giggled and Sakura let out another groan. She hated going out to the pub with Ino because she was always left alone while Ino went to leave with some strange boy. Plus after yesterday Sakura was sure she wasn't going to go the pub for awhile. She slowly rolled out of bed forcing herself to get up and take a long hot shower. Sakura relished in the warmth of the water and it eased some of her headache away.

She sluggishly pulled on a pair of tight black shorts and a red tank top when she finished towelling herself off. She studied the black circles under her eyes and shook her hair slightly letting the excess water fall off the short pink strands sighing as she made her way to the kitchen. Sakura impatiently waited for her toast as she thought of some of the ways to kill Naruto for last night. Her head was still pounding but she was able to eat some food and was thankful it was the weekend and didn't have to work.

Sakura slipped on a pair of sturdy shoes and closed the door with a sharp tap. The sun's lazy rays entwined their way around her and a slight breeze blew through her hair. She let out a small smile but it quickly vanished as she began to sprint down the street away from the busy village. Sakura found her usual path, which led out of the village and into the forest, winding its way through the wild woods. She ran hard and fast pushing past all pain and discomfort that was caused telling herself she would be strong. Satisfied with the distance she turned to head back towards the village. Fatigue had started to set in and Sakura scowled pushing herself to go faster. The walls of the village were in sight when something from the corner of Sakura's eye caught her attention. She slowed to see Kakashi training in a small field and he stopped when he saw her. Sakura timidly made her way over to where he was standing and studied the ground at his feet.

"Umm sorry about last night." Sakura meekly mumbled continuing to stare at the ground wiping the sweat from her brow. Her breathing was still heavy, but she continued. "Thanks for what you did and yeah I didn't mean to be such an ass." She heard him chuckle softly.

"When aren't you an ass?" Sakura's eyes snapped from the ground to give him a glare. Kakashi tucked his hands into his pocket slouching his shoulders slightly and continued to talk. "You're serious about joining ANBU?" He muttered quietly to her.

"Yes. They are holding tests in about a month from now." Sakura replied with slight apprehension. "I've asked Tsunade for permission to do this and she has agreed." Kakashi stayed silent. "You all ready agreed to do this last night. Don't think I was to drunk to not remember that Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said while pointing an accusing finger at him. She could see his one droopy eye crease which she assumed was from a smile. "I need you to tell me if I'm...weak and don't have a chance of joining ANBU. I know you won't lie to me." Sakura's voice was full of anxiety as she mumbled her last statement.

"Alright. First off stop calling me sensei. I haven't been your sensei in a long time and we are equals now. We'll meet here everyday at three for you to practice your taijutsu." Kakashi finished slowly.

"Thank you Kakashi-sen... um" Sakura stuttered.

"Kakashi."

"Thanks Kakashi." She repeated feeling odd at dropping the formality. "That will work perfectly considering I'm off at two from the hospital."

"Good. Shall we begin?" Kakashi asked, his voice being flat and monotone.

"What now?" Sakura gasped. Kakashi's expression did not change. "But I've just been" She stopped herself abruptly realizing how much she sounded like a child making excuses. Sakura put herself into a defensive form and waited. "Don't go easy on me. I don't want you to hold back." She said a little louder than necessary. Kakashi nodded.

"No chakra. You need to be able to fight just as well with out." Sakura groaned slightly at this but nodded.

Kakashi became a blur and Sakura only blocked the fist coming towards her stumbling backwards. She hissed in pain as her legs protested from the sudden movement but quickly rolled forward feeling the air rush past her ear from a missed attack. Before she had time to collect herself Kakashi was behind her all ready attacking. Sakura turned to slow and was caught in the ribs by one of his kicks and she dropped to the ground gasping for air.

"Sakura are you"

"Don't" She yelled cutting him off while clutching her ribs.

"I'm sorry you're usually faster than that." Kakashi muttered with a hint of concern. Sakura clenched her jaw in anger.

"I am but I've been out running today all ready." She said through clenched teeth anger quickly rising in her. "And I'm hung over." A vision from last night flashed in her mind and she cursed quietly to herself.

"I think we should continue tomorrow."

"No. We will finish this." Sakura yelled to him not able to contain her anger any longer. She pushed herself from the ground and sprinted towards him ignoring the screams from her muscles. Kakashi stopped her fist with little effort and her next attack. _God he__'__s to fast _Sakura thought desperately to herself as she was being pushed from the middle of the field to it's edges by his attacks. All she saw was a blur then the feel of cool bark against her cheek. Her left arm was pinned against her back while her right was pushed against the tree. Sakura let out a frustrated groan and struggled slightly.

"Never let anger take over when you are fighting." He whispered dangerously in her ear. "That is a sure way to get yourself killed." Sakura stopped struggling feeling ashamed at allowing her emotions to take over and how easily she was defeated. Kakashi released her and began walking back to the middle of the field and Sakura followed keeping her eyes trained on the ground.

"Do you think I will actually be able to make it?" She asked apprehension evident in her voice when her breathing returned to normal.

"In your current state. No." Kakashi's voice was casual as he sat himself down pulling out one of his pervy novels. "But you will get better. I at least you owe you that." Sakura's heart felt heavy in her chest but she blinked in confusion at his last statement.

"Wait what?"

"You are the capable ninja you are today because of Tsunade. I neglected your training while you were my student not seeing your full potential and for that I'm sorry." His voice was still calm but it had a hint of remorse to it. Sakura stood there stunned staring at him then a laugh escaped from her lips.

"Well I don't blame you. Who would have taken me seriously back then, but thank you for your help now. I'll see you tomorrow." She muttered quietly giving him a small wave before sprinting from the clearing. Her thoughts returned to Sasuke and tears began to gather at her eyes. _No you aren__'__t going to cry. Only a weak Sakura would cry. _She told herself harshly rubbing her eyes bitterly.

Sakura tried to soothe her aching muscles from the warm water of her shower and groaned when she heard someone pounding at her door.

"Sakura?" Ino's voice called to her.

"I'm in the shower Ino. What do you want?" Sakura yelled back slightly bitter. She could hear her bathroom door creak open slowly.

"You never called me back so I brought over some clothes for you to try for going out tonight." She replied casually oblivious to Sakura's mood.

"I'm not going tonight." Sakura muttered while rinsing the shampoo out of her hair. Ino gasped slightly.

"But you have to come." Ino whined desperately. Sakura poked her head from out of the curtain narrowing her eyes into a glare.

"No Ino I don't. I all ready went out last night with Naruto and I won't be going out for awhile." Sakura said a little louder than necessary.

"Whoa what's got you in such a bad mood?"

"Nothing." Ino raised her eyebrows at Sakura

"Right. Well give me a call later when you aren't so bitchy." Ino said giving a slight huff as she closed the door.

"I'm not being bitchy." Sakura yelled out to her clenching her fists and stomping her foot.

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This turned out to be longer than what I expected. Review and tell me what you think.

Cance


	4. Chapter 4

"Sakura pay attention." A sharp voice called out to her.

"Sorry Tsunade." She replied sheepishly bringing her attention away from the clock.

"I said you would be able to do other training as long as it didn't distract you from your current work. Do not make me take back what I agreed to." Tsunade said dangerously to her. Sakura gave Tsunade a curt nod while glaring at the snickering patient. "Now this is a particularly nasty break. We need to set the bone before we can heal it. Hold him down Sakura." Tsunade barked putting her hands on the man's leg. The young ninja's eyes widened in fear and beads of sweat started to form on his forehead. Sakura placed her hands on the man's broad shoulders and gathered her chakra waiting for the single. Tsunade gave her a sharp nod and she pressed him firmly into the bed listening to the bones scrape against each other and the howling pain of the man. It was over in seconds but the man continued to whimper in pain and Sakura released her grip. "Finish the rest and get him out of here. You may leave as well once you are done." Tsunade said quickly while leaving the room.

"Oh hush will you. The worst part is over." Sakura said excitedly at the prospect of leaving early.

"Easy for you to say. Are you sure you're qualified to be doing this?" He whimpered to her. Sakura gave him a lethal glare as she placed her hands over his broken bone and concentrated her chakra there. It only took a few moments for her to mend and seal the bone completely back together and she gave herself a satisfied smile.

"Now this will be tender for a while but other then that you should be fine. Unless of course I messed up. Then we'll have to amputate your leg." Sakura muttered gravely to him seeing his expression change into horror. "I'm only kidding." She giggled slightly and handed him a chart to sign. He muttered angrily under his breath but didn't dare look at her. "Have a nice day." Sakura said in an overly sweet voice making him wince while bouncing out of the room down to the front desk. She completed the chart and handed it to the blonde receptionist. "I'm off for the day so see you tomorrow." Sakura said cheerily and headed out of the door.

Tsunade had only let her go fifteen minutes early but it was still early. She only ever did that if she was impressed with Sakura's work or wanted to start drinking her hidden bottle of sake early, which in this case was probably the latter. She saw Naruto waiting at the bottom of the steps for her and gave him a small wave.

"Hey Sakura." He yelled out cheerfully to her.

"I'm not buying you food Naruto." Sakura replied nonchalantly to him as she passed him on the steps.

"Now why would you say a thing like that?" He asked with a pretend sweetness to his voice.

"Because the only time you come to my work is when you want me to buy you food. I'm not taking you out to lunch because I have things to do like grocery shopping." Naruto's face fell into a gloomy expression as he followed her through the crowded street.

"Fine." He replied sullenly to her continuing to follow her through the supermarket. "Did you know Hinata likes me." He said casually throwing an orange between his hands. Sakura let out a snort of laughter.

"People have only been telling you that for how many years now. You were just to dumb to pick up on any of it." She replied still laughing slightly.

"Shut up." Naruto scowled to Sakura tightening his grip on the orange making it explode in his hand.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Naruto shrugged his shoulders slightly wiping the juice from his face as Sakura repressed a laugh. "Well you better hurry up and make up your mind before some sense gets knocked into her and she moves on to a different guy." She said while handing money to pay for her newly acquired food. "I've got to get going or else I'm going to be late." She mumbled giving him a quick wave good bye.

"Wait what about lunch?"

"I told you no all ready."

"I thought you were joking." Naruto yelled incredulously to her as she weaved her way through the crowded street. Sakura quickly put away her groceries and changed into something more decent for fighting in and tore off for the field. She arrived out of breath from her sprint and clutched her side as she scanned the field.

"Great he isn't even here. I should've known." She grumbled to herself as she inhaled deeply. She paced beside a large tree but finally decided to rest in the shade seeing as he could be awhile. She slid down to the trunk of the tree and propped her knee to rest her hand on. Sakura closed her eyes as her mind raced about the upcoming test. _I can__'__t fail this. I won__'__t fail this. I will make myself stronger and Sasuke will recognize my strength. _Sakura told herself harshly as she opened her eyes. A little gasp escaped her mouth as she saw Kakashi standing in the field reading his Icha Icha book. "When did you get here Kakashi-se...Kakashi?" She asked pushing herself from the ground.

"While you were daydreaming." He muttered quietly to her. He continued to read but signalled for her to attack him. Sakura felt her anger rise in her. His simple gesture of reading made her feel like she was twelve again and an inept ninja. She hurtled himself towards Kakashi with him blocking her first attack effortlessly. Sakura felt like screaming in frustration as the fighting continued. He never took his uncovered eye from the book and she was sure Kakashi was smirking at her from under his black mask. Her breathing became ragged as the fighting continued and she could feel exhaustion setting in but anger still coursed through her veins. "Emotions Sakura. Keep them in check." He muttered while blocking a fist to the face. She stopped abruptly feeling like she had been slapped in the face and shame burned on her cheeks.

"I'm sorry." She whispered quietly taking deep breaths to calm herself down. _Remember your training you idiot. _She screamed at herself and prepared to attack again. His eyes never left the book and Sakura couldn't help but feel depressed. Her attacks became more feeble with every strike and she wanted to scream in frustration.

"That's enough for today." Kakashi muttered licking his thumb and flicking the page. Sakura clutched her knees catching her breath. "I suspect you haven't been doing much taijutsu." She could feel her cheeks reddening slightly.

"Well umm no. I didn't think I would need it being a medic nin but things have changed." Sakura said while bringing herself to stand and stare at Kakashi. He let out a small snort and she glowered at him. "Well it's not like all of us can be geniuses like you and have this come naturally to them." Sakura's voice was sarcastic and she continued to glare at him, but Kakashi made no move to reply. She huffed slightly then swiftly turned away from him. "I'll see you tomorrow." Sakura said angrily walking towards the village.

Her training continued like this for two weeks. Kakashi always read putting in little effort to stop her flimsy attacks and it angered Sakura to see how weak she was. She learned to control her emotions by tucking them away and concentrating on her fighting. Sakura pushed her body to the limit each day, but each session ended the same by her being pinned to the ground and helpless to make another move. Sakura could see herself improving each day becoming faster and more forceful with her attacks and noticed small changes from her body as well. Her arms had become slightly more defined and she overall looked leaner and faster. Training consumed her life and she barely saw her friends anymore but they didn't seem to mind . Ino was currently sucking face with only one guy at the moment and Naruto had decided to make his move with Hinata.

It was the beginning of the third week of training with Kakashi. He stood in the field reading his book and Sakura waited to make her move. She was no longer angry at his actions and only concentrated at the task at hand. Today she desperately wanted to land one attack on Kakashi and the desire burned deep within her. She pushed it from her mind and focused all her energy on the copy nin. Sakura sprinted towards him throwing her fist brutally towards his face, but he quickly dodged it. Sakura dropped down swinging her leg to catch his feet, but Kakashi avoided her second attack. With her back now facing Kakashi she launched herself from the ground doing a black flip over his head and landed crouching behind him. She steadied her breathing while Kakashi turned to give her a calculating look. To Sakura's surprise he folded the corner of the page down and tucked the book away in his side pocket. Butterflies raced through her stomach as he signalled for her to attack him again and she pushed all emotion from her mind. Sakura propelled herself from the ground and brought her fist down hard to Kakashi's face and to her surprise his fist reacted trying to catch her in the stomach. She barely managed to block it as she landed behind him again.

"Never leave yourself open to an attack." Kakashi muttered and Sakura only saw a blur before feeling her arms clutched across her body. "Mistake number one is never stop attacking until your opponent is down." Kakashi whispered into her ear. Sakura smiled slightly as she laced her leg around his and gave a hard yank. She felt his grip slacken slightly and slipped from his arms, but quickly turned throwing a punch to his abdomen. Kakashi blocked it and threw an attack of his own at her and Sakura side stepped it while fiercely tried another one. _All I need is one. _Sakura thought and pushed herself harder. She felt her knuckles graze his cheek but he quickly disappeared and Sakura could sense Kakashi approaching from behind. They continued to attack each other but neither one could land a single kick or punch.

"I told you to go all out." Sakura gasped to him feeling her sides tighten in pain. She felt air gushing beside her ear as she saw his gloved fist brush past her cheek. She threw a kick behind her and gasped when she felt it connect with his body. Sakura stopped abruptly with her chest rising painfully fast and gaped at Kakashi bringing her foot back to the earth.

She scowled at him feeling her anger snap as she tackled him to the ground pinning him to the earth. "I said go all out and then you let me hit you." Sakura muttered through clenched teeth. "How am I supposed to become strong if you won't treat me seriously?" She gripped his arms tighter from her anger while feeling butterflies dance in her stomach and glared at Kakashi. She stopped when she noticed his intense gaze. Sakura felt a slight blush rise to her cheeks and her grip loosened on Kakashi's arms. It was a blur of movement to her but she could feel herself being tipped over him with his weight settling on top of her. Her breath became ragged as her mind raced with new feelings that were beginning to surface. Kakashi had pinned both of her arms above her head and was excruciatingly close to her. Sakura could feel his hot breaths brush against her neck and it sent a shiver down her spine while his body on hers made her tingle. She tried to force the feelings from her mind as guilt took hold of her heart for feeling like this with someone else other than Sasuke.

"SAKURA" A voice yelled crashing through the forest. She tore her gaze away from Kakashi's and felt his weight lift from her being immediately relieved and disappointed at the same time. She shook her head pushing the thoughts from her mind and accepted his gloved hand to see Naruto come skidding to a halt in front of them. "Sakura...we...gates...Sasuke" He yelled voice laced with panic and began tearing through the forest again.

"Wait what?" Sakura called out to him frozen in fear. "What did he say?" She asked Kakashi her eyes wide with alarm.

"I think you should follow him." Kakashi replied quietly. Sakura nodded and sprinted through the forest trying to stifle her fear.

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Hope this chapter isn't to long. Review as always.

Cance


	5. Chapter 5

Sakura arrived at the gates and clutched her side as she skidded to a halt beside Naruto.

"What's wrong?" She asked him loudly. He avoided her gaze and she could see tears gathering in his eyes. "Naruto what is it?" Sakura asked forcefully shaking him slightly.

"Sasuke he..." Naruto faltered shaking his head and Sakura could feel her heart stop with fear.

"No...it couldn't... he wouldn't." She stopped with disbelief ringing in her voice. Sakura turned to see two ninja's carrying a stretcher and looked to see tears streaming down Naruto's face as he stood there helpless. The ninja's entered the front gates after what seemed an eternity but Sakura couldn't force herself to look at the stretcher.

"Sakura, Naruto I'm sorry." A low voice mumbled and she recognized that it was Genma. Her gaze traveled from Genma and lowered on to the stretcher and Sakura wanted to scream out in pain. She walked over to the stretcher and placed a hand on Sasuke's cold cheek and could feel herself break inside.

"When.." Sakura's voice trailed off still in shock and disbelief looking at Sasuke's broken body. Blood stained his his shirt and had dried onto his neck but his face looked calm even serene Sakura thought. _He's finally found the peace he craved so much in death. _She told herself bitterly.

"Yesterday. We got word yesterday and went to retrieve the body." Genma kept his voice low and steady while outstretching a hand placing it on Sakura's shoulder and giving it a gently squeeze. Naruto came to stand beside her and she pulled him into an embrace holding back the tears she wanted to cry so badly right now. "I'm sorry but we have to take him to the burial sight." He whispered quietly to her. Sakura released Naruto but still held his hand and nodded her head in understanding.

"We will follow." She mumbled to him with Genma nodding and continued on down the street. Sakura and Naruto followed keeping their heads bowed and she could hear the crowded street stunned into a shocked silence as Sasuke's body was carried through the village to his final resting place. She lifted her head when she felt a thick black cloth being tied around her arm and saw Tsunade's sombre face.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Tsunade said slowly before giving Sakura a gentle reassuring squeeze. She walked over to Naruto and tied the same black cloth around his arm. "Sasuke instructed that we didn't do the usual ceremony with a burial. He just wanted to be deposited into the earth with his friends watching over him." Tsunade faltered slightly when they stopped in front of a prepared grave and tombstone. She nodded to the two men carrying the stretcher and they lowered Sasuke's body into the grave. Sakura felt numb watching him being covered with the freshly upturned soil and every breath was painful to her. Naruto had stopped his tears and watched in silence with Sakura as the earth reclaimed the last of the Uchiha clan.

"It's not fair." Naruto suddenly yelled and Sakura could feel the threat of tears gathering at her eyes again. "We've gone through so much and the idiot has to die on a mission." He yelled angrily balling up his fists. Sakura pulled him into another embrace holding him tight against her.

"I know." Her voice wavered with emotion but she forced herself to remain strong. Naruto pulled out of the embrace returning his attention back to the grave. The two ninja's gave nods of respect as they finished leaving the fresh grave.

"Take the next three days off." Tsunade instructed as she brushed passed Sakura leaving the two friends to grieve in privacy. They stood for a long time in silence listening to the thunder claps growing louder.

"Lets go." Naruto mumbled quietly giving Sakura slight tug on her hand.

"No I think...I need to be here for a little while longer." Her voice was flat and carried no emotion. Naruto pulled her into another hug.

"You'll know where to find me once you're ready." He whispered gently into her ear then broke away leaving her alone. Sakura turned her attention back to the grave and slumped down to her knees letting her emotions over come her. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes and began to cry sobbing loudly. Her tears mixed with the rain that now splattered all around her.

"Why did you do this to me?" She sobbed placing her face in her hands shaking violently. Sakura cried until there was nothing left and angrily tried to scrub the tears away from her face letting the rain wash over her features. "I always believed you would never leave me. But I was wrong. You're such a selfish bastard." She mumbled angrily while tracing his name on the cold tombstone with her fingers. Her heart ached and her sorrow deepened with each heartbeat. Sakura slowly rose to her feet and turned walking away from the grave when she paused. "Goodbye Uchiha Sasuke. I'm sorry I couldn't be strong enough for you, but I will avenge your death even if it costs me my life." She felt hollow and empty inside as she left his grave.

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I didn't think Sasuke would end up being killed but that's where the story is taking me. Tell me what you think.

Cance


	6. Chapter 6

Sakura wandered through the streets of Konoha ignoring the shivers of her body as the rain swept over her. She looked up shocked to see herself staring at a familiar door way and wondered why she had chosen to go there of all places. Sakura waited desperately for something to happen her body numb from the cold and her mind wandered. She shook herself quelling the butterflies in her stomach and turned to leave when she heard the door creak open. Kakashi gave her a slight nod before retreating back into his apartment leaving the door open for her.

Sakura waited until he was out of sight and stepped carefully past the threshold of his door closing it softly behind her. She had met him many times at his place, but never before had seen inside it. She kicked off her sopping wet shoes feeling the cool hardwood beneath her feet and walked slowly into the middle of the living room. She had always pictured him as kind of a messy guy with books littering the floor, but to her shock there was nothing. A single leather chair sat in his living room facing the roaring fire and the walls were completely bare. The apartment was smaller than hers and a lone room stood off to the left with it's door shut tightly. To her right she could see Kakashi's bedroom and was startled from her thoughts when Kakashi finally spoke from in the kitchen.

"Drink?" He asked and she snapped her head to see him holding a bottle of whiskey in his hands. Sakura nodded her head slowly and turned walking over to the fire. She sat down curtly shivering slightly from her sopping wet clothes and brought her hands close to the flames feeling the warmth tickle her fingers.

Kakashi handed her the small glass before sitting down in front of her folding his legs underneath him and sipping from his glass. Sakura studied the amber liquid and noted how he had given her so little compared to him and was lost in her thoughts again.

"It helps with the pain." Kakashi mumbled softly to her and Sakura looked at him. She could see a trace of pain and regret in his eye and shivered again. He usually hid it so well, but today was different. She turned her attention back to the glass swirling the liquid gently drowning in her thoughts. Her heart ached for Sasuke and she had devoted everything to him, but now he was dead and she had nothing left. Sakura felt her heart tighten as she remembered the last time she spoke with him. _He wanted me, but because I weak he couldn__'__t..._ She stopped not allowing herself to finish her thought knowing how much grief it would cause her.

Sakura looked at Kakashi and something ached inside of her. She gently put the glass down beside her, butterflies flickering deep within her stomach and crawled to him stopping when the material of his pants brushed against her fingers. She sat back on her knees shuffling a little closer to him. Sakura outstretched her hands and paused slightly when she saw Kakashi tense, but continued pulling the glass from his hand and set it down beside him. She drew her face closer to his, breath quickening in pace while her fingers reached the edge of his mask. She hesitated slightly letting her fingers curl around the black material and began to slip it down his face. Kakashi's fingers wrapped around hers and she stopped. Sakura dropped her gaze withdrawing her hands to place them on her lap and felt empty.

"Please." She whispered quietly to him while untying the black cloth from around her arm. She placed it over her eyes tying a secure knot and continued. "I just want to feel loved." Her hands trembled slightly as she found the zipper to his green vest and slowly began to pull it down. She slipped it over his shoulders and slowly lifted herself to straddle his lap and heard his sharp intake of breath as she settled herself down. Sakura's hands found his face and she traced the outline of his clothed lips and gently pressed her lips to his. She pulled back slightly feeling his warmth radiate from him."Kakashi" She whispered, but didn't have the chance to continue when she felt his naked lips pressing against hers. Sakura let out a slight moan when she felt his tongue flicker against her bottom lip and she opened her mouth allowing him to deepen the kiss. Kakashi's arms wrapped tightly around her body pulling her against his chest and she felt a warmth pool in her lower belly. She worked feverishly at pulling off his shirt and broke the kiss to find him nipping at her neck with his tongue darting out to taste her. Her fingers trailed over the hard planes of his chest and she gasped slightly only to have it stifled by another passionate kiss from Kakashi. Sakura could feel a certain hunger in his kisses as he began to peel off her wet clothes. He stood up abruptly and Sakura wrapped her legs tight around his waist, but drew back apprehensively as he made his way towards the bedroom. She clutched him tight in her arms feeling her face flush as she spoke."I've never done this before." She stuttered with embarrassment and felt him stop."Please don't stop." She whispered her hot breath curling in his ear with a certain desire for him to ease the ache between her legs. Sakura pulled him into another deep kiss and moaned when he continued to the bedroom.

Sakura awoke to the smell of coffee and could hear something sizzling on the stove. She sat up clutching the white sheet around her body while pulling the cloth down from her eyes and squinted from the bright sunlight. She searched for her clothes only to blush slightly when she remembered they were still scattered in Kakashi's living room and wrapped the sheet tightly around her before leaving his bedroom. She gave the living room a quick scan and was surprised when she couldn't find them and continued on to the kitchen. Kakashi paused running his gaze alone her body and Sakura could feel her face go hot under his gaze, but he diverted his attention back to the eggs. She studied his face noticing that he didn't cover the Sharingan today and his hair was mussed giving him a sleepy look. She leaned against one of the counters while he poured a cup of coffee and handed it to her. She accepted it gratefully sipping the hot brew letting her mind wander.

"Umm do you know where my clothes are?" She asked sheepishly unconsciously wrapping the sheet tighter around her.

"In the bathroom drying." His voice was casual as he poured some eggs onto a plate and handed it to her. "Forks are behind you in that drawer." He said pointing to one behind her. She pulled out two forks giving him one and began to pick at her food trying to distract herself from her thoughts. Her mind whispered of Sasuke and her heart ached.

"Why don't you have more furniture?" Sakura asked desperately trying to pull her thoughts away from Sasuke. She gaped at Kakashi seeing that his plate was empty and wondered how she could have missed seeing his face while he ate. Kakashi gave her a slight shrug.

"I'm rarely ever here." Sakura gave him a small nod in understanding.

"I'm sorry about last night. I needed to numb the pain and you were the first person I turned to." She averted her gaze back down to her plate picking at the eggs once more. "Don't worry I'm not one of those annoying girls who would try to make something more out of last night than what it really was." Her voice was small and she ventured a look at Kakashi only to see his usual blank expression on his face.

"You're going to be late for work and you know how Tsunade gets when people are late." His voice chuckled and Sakura found it soothing to her.

"She gave me three days off." She paused putting the plate of eggs down on the counter beside her. "Could I stay here for awhile?" Sakura asked hesitantly studying his face for any sign of apprehension. Kakashi gave her a slight nod and she sighed in relief, but still felt grief gnawing at her heart. She crossed the tiny kitchen slowly and pulled Kakashi to face her as she sat herself up on the counter. Sakura pulled him close between her thighs giving him a seductive look with her emerald eyes as she slipped the black cloth over her eyes. She tangled her hands in his hair expecting Kakashi to kiss her, but he nibbled on her neck causing her to moan in pleasure. They spent the rest of the day and night tangled in each others arms sleeping when exhaustion over took them and surfacing only for the need of food and water.

Sakura awoke the second day to find her heart didn't ache as bad. She borrowed any necessities from Kakashi and spent the day lounging around in his clothes. The room with the closed door constantly fluttered to her thoughts and she plucked up the courage to ask him what was in it. She envisioned kinky sex toys or blow up dolls and he chuckled showing her. Sakura gasped slightly when she saw bookcase upon bookcase full of books and a special designated area for Kakashi's Icha Icha books.

"Why do you read these things?" Sakura asked slightly turning her nose up at them. Kakashi gave her a chuckle and his eye narrowed dangerously.

"Why don't you read one and find out." He said slyly before leaving her alone in the room causing Sakura to give him a miffed look. She let out a slight huff before turning her attention to the novels and began to read to the titles on the spine. _Paradise Island; sounds way to cheesy for my tastes. Bubblelicious Birthday; sounds way to perverted. Ninja Love...hmmm lets see what good old Jiraiya has to say about us ninjas. _Sakura thought hazily to herself slipping the book from the shelf.

Kakashi was seated against the wall legs outstretched lazily reading while Sakura settled herself into the large leather chair propping the book against her knee. _Hmm simple plot line. _She thought to herself reading the first few pages. _Ugh god what a cheesy line. Please don__'__t tell me she falls for that. Oh she does...he does what to her?? _Sakura tore her gaze from the book when she heard Kakashi chuckle.

"Sakura I do believe you are blushing." And began to laugh when Sakura's blush deepened. She gave him a venomous look and returned her attention back to the novel trying to stifle the reddening of her cheeks. She finished the short novel a few hours later noting some things she would definitely have to try and closed the book with a sharp tap.

"How can you read those all the time?" Sakura blurted out loud ignoring her current aroused state. Kakashi's eyes crinkled at her statement.

"Why? Have some itch that needs to be scratched now?" He asked mischievously and Sakura felt herself blushing again. She took the book throwing it forcefully at his head and Kakashi only had to slide a little to miss the impact while laughing loudly. She stood up abruptly coming to stand in front of him and dropped down to straddle his hips.

"Maybe I do." She whispered into his ear rolling her hips seductively surprised at her own audacity. Kakashi immediately picked her up as a little squeak escaped from her throat and retired to the bedroom for the rest of the day and night.

She could hear the shower running and lazily rolled over pulling down the black cloth. Sakura noticed the pain in her heart had subsided a little more today as well only to be replaced by another pain, but she ignored it dismissing it's existence. She looked to see Kakashi standing in the doorway of the bathroom, towel tucked firmly around his hips and hair hiding the Sharingan. His skin glistened as beads of water ran down his muscular body. Sakura blushed and averted her eyes pulling the sheet to cover herself. Sure she had felt and probably licked every inch of his body, but she had done that all blindfolded and was still bashful. She quickly slipped past him taking her turn in the shower and sighed when she realized tomorrow she would have to go back to reality.

Sakura quietly munched on her toast but her throat was dry making it hard for her to swallow.

"Oh baka." Kakashi said loudly stretching in front of the fridge. "Looks like I'm out of food tomorrow. Guess I have to go shopping." He sighed loudly and closed the fridge door. Sakura let out a small giggle and Kakashi gave her a quizzical look.

"Sorry" She muttered quietly to him. "It's just I know you have to shop for food, but for someone reason I can't see you doing it. It's what normal people do." Sakura giggled again when a mental image formed in her mind of Kakashi having a puzzled expression on his face while scratching his head looking at all the different vegetables in a grocery store. She put her toast down to the plate and her expression quickly changed. "The ANBU tests are three days from now." She mumbled quietly counting the number of raisins on her toast.

"I know." Kakashi's voice was softer than usual.

"I need to pass this. I swore to get revenge for Sasuke and become the strong person he needed by his side." Her voice was quiet and she could feel grief setting in again. Sakura pushed herself off the counter and kept her eyes downcast as she crossed the small space between them stopping abruptly in front of Kakashi. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled herself to his chest closing her eyes and listening to sound of his heart beat. They spent the rest of the day in comfortable silences with each other unless they were doing other more strenuous activities.

Sakura could feel Kakashi's hot breaths on her neck as she stirred from her sleep feeling his arms tucked tightly around her. She pulled the cloth to peek from under it surprised to see the sun had all ready risen. Her grief had lessened this morning as well but something else tugged at her heart. Sakura questioned how this was going to end between them and wondered if she really wanted it to, but quickly shook those thoughts from her head as guilt seeped into her mind. Sakura slipped from Kakashi's grasp not daring to look at his face. She didn't know if he had his mask on and even though she burned with the desire to see his face, she couldn't violate his trust like that. _I__'__m using him for my own selfish needs and he knows that. I__'__m sure he doesn__'__t want every woman he__'__s slept with to see his face. _Sakura thought to herself.She gave the apartment one last look seeing Kakashi still sleeping peacefully and left closing the door quietly.

Kakashi had felt Sakura twitch under his grasp and he continued to study her face knowing she would be awake any moment. He relished in the feeling of her smooth creamy skin against his own and watched her chest rise and fall with each breath. He returned his gaze back to her face and was mesmerized by how the light caught in her pink mussed hair, but itched to take off the blindfold and see all of her. She stirred and he quickly closed his eyes feigning sleep as she rose from the bed. He slit an eye open getting a perfect view of her luscious behind while she slipped on her clothes and he let a devilish grin escape from his lips. Kakashi had watched her leave his bedroom and when he heard the door close he rolled over groaning. _And now it__'__s over. _He told himself dejectedly.

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I've moved up the rating to be safe and I'm not going to go into explicit details becuase I know there are probably younger eyes that shouldn't be reading this. Hope you like it.

Cance


	7. Chapter 7

"How are you feeling today?" Tsunade's voice was softer than usual, but Sakura kept her gaze to the ground as she walked to the hospital's exit. Her grief had overwhelmed her when she left Kakashi's place and to her annoyance everyone kept apologizing to her for her loss. Yes it was the proper thing to do, but it only served to painfully remind Sakura that Sasuke was gone.

"Fine." Sakura managed to mutter quietly through the knot in her throat. _Only a few more steps and you__'__ll be outta here. _She told herself desperate to be left alone.

"You're still taking the test for ANBU in two days?" Sakura stopped bringing her attention to the Hokage and nodded slowly. "And what do you plan to do if you're accepted?" Tsunade's voice had a dangerous edge to it but her face gave no insight to what she was thinking.

"Well that should be obvious." Sakura replied with a hint of anger laced in her voice the knot gone from her throat. Tsunade crossed her arms and quirked an eyebrow making it disappear into her hair.

"I see." Sakura narrowed her eyes in anger at Tsunade's tone of voice.

"I will do this with or with out your help." Sakura yelled out ignoring the miffed looks of the hospital staff. Tsunade crossed the space between them and narrowed her eyes dangerously at Sakura.

"You are a ninja, a tool for the village and not your own personal will." Tsunade hissed venomously to her. "Sasuke died serving his village and you should be proud." Sakura stood there tense shaking slightly from the anger she felt and clenched her fists tightly at her side. "I see you are set in your ways Sakura. Then I will have to make sure that you do not pass." Tsunade concluded with a finality in her voice. Sakura let out a small gasp against her will and her eyes widened with shock.

"You can't do that. You can not fail a person." Sakura whispered trying to conceal the fear in her voice. The Hokage gave a sharp laugh.

"No, but I set the difficulty of the tests can make sure they will be impossible for you to pass. I don't want to make you learn the hard way, but I will if need be." Tsunade's voice had gone back to being calm as if she was dealing with an everyday transaction. She turned curtly leaving Sakura stunned.

"I will not fail." Sakura called out once she had shaken herself out of her thoughts. Tsunade stopped, but didn't turn to face her.

"We shall see about that. Take tomorrow off to prepare." Tsunade replied casually and continued leaving.

Sakura could feel her thoughts weighing heavily down on her as she left the hospital. _Why did I provoke her? _She asked herself bitterly ignoring the mournful glances that came her way. _No I must pass this. I will pass this, but even if I do they probably won__'__t assign me to a mission dealing with Sasuke__'__s killers. Then I__'__ll just have to... _She stopped herself from finishing that thought. _This is all your fault Sasuke. _She told herself angrily feeling tears well up into her eyes. Her heart began to ache and she continued down the street keeping her face low allowing her short pink hair to conceal her eyes. Sakura could hear the hushed silences as she passed by villagers and was relieved when she saw her apartment come into view. She desperately wanted to alone, away from everyone's pitying stares and comments.

Sakura heard the familiar click with the unlocking of the door and opened it only to groan loudly. Ino and Naruto were sitting on her couch starring glaring as she closed the door behind her.

"And where the hell have you been?" Naruto yelled out angrily. Sakura let her back slump against the door and closed her eyes breathing heavily. _It__'__s a dream they aren__'__t really here. They aren__'__t here. They aren__'__t here. _She was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a warm hand placed on her shoulder shaking her slightly. "Sakura?" Naruto called out voice considerably softer. Sakura opened her eyes slowly before pulling him into a hug, but her heart still ached.

"I wasn't anywhere." Sakura whispered into his ear before pulling out of the embrace and flopping down on the couch beside Ino. Her grief began to consume her and she could feel the familiar knot form in her throat.

"I couldn't get a hold of you for three days and Tsunade said you were given time off of work, but I couldn't find you anywhere." Ino said voice laced with concern as she draped an arm over Sakura's shoulders.

"I just needed...need to be alone." Sakura replied softly feeling her body sag from all her emotions. Ino tightened her grip before releasing her and standing up from the couch.

"Ok Sakura, but call if you need anything." Ino's voice was morose and Sakura looked up to see tears gathering in her sapphire eyes.

"Wait what?" Naruto yelled out anger returning. Ino turned narrowing her eyes dangerously at him.

"We're leaving." Ino said severely. She ignored his continued protests before grabbing Naruto by the ear and dragging him out of the apartment.

"Change where you hide your spare key." He yelled out angrily outside on the step. Ino paused in her doorway keeping her back turned to Sakura.

"We're all grieving too you know." Ino whispered and Sakura could hear her voice waver before she closed the door. Sakura felt a tear slip from her cheek and wiped at her eyes angrily.

"I'm not going to be weak." She said bitterly through clenched teeth and closed her eyes wishing she could be devoid of all emotion and thoughts. Sakura slipped into a trouble sleep.

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Hope you like it. Cheers.

Cance


	8. Chapter 8

She awoke with a crick in her neck and sat up on the couch rubbing her neck slowly. She could feel something settle deep within her chest and give her heart a squeeze as tears stung her eyes. Sakura stood up slowly removing layers of clothing as she walked into the bathroom and stopped when she caught her reflection in the mirror. Dark circles clung underneath her eyes, but they made her shiver slightly. They were hollow and she couldn't find a trace of her old self in them. She stood in the shower long after the hot water had disappeared hoping to drown her thoughts and feelings away.

Sakura sighed heavily as the breeze blew threw her hair and she settled her back against a tree. _I wonder if he will show up. _She thought to herself with despair. She closed her eyes chasing thoughts of Sasuke from her mind with no luck until she sensed a familiar chakra approaching and felt a little wave of relief wash through her.

"Hello Kakashi." Her voice was calm and quiet as she sensed him standing in front of her.

"Yo." She opened her eyes to see him with his hands tucked in his pockets slouching lazily.

"Why did you really fight me that one day?" Sakura asked suddenly remembering their last training session together. "I didn't improve very much so why?" The desire burned deep within her to know the truth. Kakashi's eye crinkled from a smile.

"You had such a determination about you that day." He said casually keeping his gaze on hers. Sakura let out a hollow laugh and closed her eyes again replaying Tsunade's words over and over in her head.

"Tsunade's going to make it impossible for me to pass the exams." She kept her voice steady, but desire coursed through her veins. Sakura desperately wanted to prove her strength and uphold her vow to avenge Sasuke's death. A smile slipped from her lips as she felt a sense of overwhelming acceptance at her situation. She gathered her chakra to her legs and with lightning speed threw her fist towards his face. Kakashi blocked it and she landed behind, but was all ready preparing her next attack. "Sorry just needed that to get me started." Sakura said breathlessly swinging her leg to his chest. He disappeared from view and she stopped clearing her mind and sensing his chakra.

"To slow." He whispered into her ear from behind and quickly disappeared again when she turned to attack. _He__'__s taunting me. Trying to make me angry. _Sakura smirked to herself. He appeared again and she flew into a frenzy of attacks. Her muscles burned and began to ache, but she pushed passed the pain and continued to fight with him. Sakura felt her knuckles graze the material on his vest as she barely missed an attack from him. Her breath had become ragged and she felt Kakashi's fist come down hard onto her left cheek. She stumbled back from the blinding pain gasping for breath and clutched her knees waiting for her breathing to return to normal.

"Again." Sakura muttered darkly while preparing her stance. Kakashi gave her a swift nod and she charged only to find his knee swiftly pressed into her side. She gasped from the pain as her eyes began to water, but Sakura continued to assault him. Kakashi caught her fist in his hand and her body sagged as she clutched her side.

"Stop holding back." Kakashi growled to her.

"I'm not." She gasped forcefully removing her fist from his. Sakura pulled herself to stand up straight and glared into his onyx eye.

"I think you are." His voice was calm as he placed his hands in his pockets and resumed his normal slouch. Sakura glowered at him further.

"And what would give you that stupid idea."

"You're scared." She stopped glaring and looked at him in disbelief. "If you were to devote all of yourself to this and still failed then you would know Sasuke was right about you." Kakashi concluded. Sakura dropped her fists and stared back at him in shock. _Oh my god what if he is right. _The words echoed through her mind. "If you truly want this, don't hold back." She trembled slightly from his words, but nodded her head and prepared her stance. Kakashi attacked and Sakura could feel fear coursing through her veins as she was being pushed from the center of the small clearing. She felt her strength waver as time wore on and let out a defiant yell. _This is it your only chance. _Sakura cursed to herself using the last of her strength and will to knock away his attack while slipping a kunai from her pouch and bringing it to his throat. She could feel the bark of a tree pressing harshly into her back and her chest rose painfully fast.

"What?" Sakura panted when she saw Kakashi's surprised look. "You told me to go all out." She finished innocently trying to distract herself from the feel of his body against hers. The kunai remained at Kakashi's neck as a smirk escaped from her lips. "Looks like I won." Sakura heard a small grunt from Kakashi as she felt the kunai being torn from her grasp and implanted into the tree beside her. She lifted her legs to straddle his waist and nipped at his neck while unzipping his vest. Sakura could feel her body tingle as he removed her shirt and planted soft kisses with his masked lips along her neck moaning when she felt him aroused. "Make me forget." She whispered into Kakashi's ear lacing her fingers through his silver hair. He pressed her harder into the tree rubbing his calloused fingers along her skin letting his mouth slip down to her breasts. Sakura whimpered when she heard voices approaching and Kakashi pulled back roughly with a pained expression on his face. He quickly performed some hand seals and Sakura felt the softness of his bed wrapping its way around her.

* * *

This chapter took a long time to write because I hate fight scenes and I always bungle them but anyways hope it wasn't too bad.

Cance


	9. Chapter 9

_There__'__s something about this place. _Sakura thought to herself as she pulled on one of Kakashi's shirts. Her grief didn't numb her this morning, but she could feel something else tugging at her heart. She ignored it walking into the kitchen and casually leaned against the counter. Sakura saw Kakashi's eyes wrinkle from a small smile and she returned it.

"The test is today." She mumbled quietly wringing her hands nervously in front of her. Kakashi gave her a slight nod.

"You should eat something." Sakura remained silent as she felt the stir of butterflies in her stomach.

"I'm going to take a shower and borrow your shirt since mine was umm well you know." She mumbled averting her gaze and feeling the familiar stain appear on her porcelain skin. She quickly ducked out of the kitchen and clamoured into the shower hoping it would soothe her nerves. It didn't. Sakura felt the cool metal under her hand as she paused in the doorway. "Can I come back here after?" She asked hesitantly turning to look back at Kakashi. He nodded his head and Sakura gave him a small smile before leaving his apartment. She didn't bother to ask him if she was ready or not, because she was going to do this no matter what people thought.

The sun had set and Sakura stood on Kakashi's step holding her hand to the door, but didn't knock. She shivered slightly from the cold and flinched from the pain it caused her aching body. The door opened flooding the step with light and Sakura felt her knees buckle from the exhaustion. Kakashi quickly swooped her into his arms and closed the door with his foot. He brought her to the leather chair and set Sakura down gently in it.

"Jesus Sakura what happened?" Kakashi asked voice full of concern as he studied her. He could see bruises on her face as a streak of blood dried from the corner of her mouth. His shirt had been stained with a mixture of blood and mud and he could see a number of cuts along her body. Mud marred her pale skin and clumped to her pink hair.

"It's not as bad as it looks." Sakura told him faintly as she tried to push herself from the chair, but felt strong hands pushing her firmly back into it. Kakashi disappeared but was back in a matter of seconds with a bowl of water and a cloth. He dipped the cloth into the warm water and began to gently wipe away the mud and blood from her face. "You don't have.." She began but was cut off with a firm shhh from Kakashi.

"What did they make you do?" He asked gently while peeling of the bloody shirt and washing the rest of her cuts.

"Fist part was easy. A written test and I've always excelled at those." Sakura said with a little smirk. "Second part was a test on how to perform certain seals and how well you can control your chakra. Third part.." Her voice turned dark and flinched at the pain.

"_Pick a number and line up in the order starting from one." A serious man called out while holding a small box out to Sakura. She felt the little pieces of paper between her fingers and grasped one showing the examiner the number. He gave her a pitying look before continuing on down the line. _

_Sakura could hear screams travelling through the door and a little wave of water squeezed through the tiny crack at the bottom stained with blood. She glanced out the window to see the dieing rays of the sun reach her before a sharp voice called back her attention._

"_Number nine you may proceed.__"__ Sakura gave a little nod swallowing hard trying to calm her nerves. She stepped outside into the cool air and felt her feet sink in the mud while she made her way to stand in front of the judges. Tsunade sat in the center and gave her a sharp nod and Sakura returned it setting her blood ablaze with anger and determination. _

"_We will be judging you on how well you are able to handle yourself in taijut__su. The examiner will end the match if you__'__re no longer able to fight, knocked out, or give up. Any deaths will result in immediate failure for you.__"__ A man at the table concluded before nodding his head to the examiner. She immediately recognized him to be Genma as a wave of anxiety swept through her. He opened a door beside the one Sakura had come out of and her eyes widened in shock. Fear trickled down her spine as the man came to stand in front of her, cracking his knuckles dangerously and giving a malicious grin. He was at least 6__"__2 and his large muscle rippled as he prepared his stance. Memories seeped into her mind of her first serious mission and the man standing before her reminded her of Zabuza, the silent assassin. _

"Well I managed to knock out my first opponent." _Just barely. _She added bitterly to herself and flinched again when Kakashi cleaned a cut on her knee. "But then Tsunade made the task a tad bit more difficult for me as she promised."

_Sakura bent down grasping the black cloth in her hands and secured it around her arm again as her breathing returned to normal. She stood in front of Tsunade giving her a defiant look as she felt blood trickle from her newly acquired wounds. _

"_You may proceed to the medic-nin now.__"__ A voice called out quiet and in disbelief. Sakura studied the faces of the judges and saw them all looking in shock at her and back to the unconscious man laying in the mud. She gave them a small nod and was about to leave when a voice cut through the air._

"_Not quite yet. I want to present her with a second test.__"__ Tsunade called out dangerously._

"_But Hokage she has all ready...__"__ The man stuttered stopping abruptly when she gave him a __venomous glare. _

"_Examiner if you will.__"__ Tsunade concluded calmly staring at Sakura without a hint of emotion. Sakura narrowed her jade eyes and glared until she sensed five chakras approaching her with an incredible speed and malicious intent. _

"Tsunade presented me with a second test where I had to face five ninjas at once simulating a real combat situation. I know I knocked out two for sure, but the third one I don't know and the remaining ones." Sakura paused remembering the intense pain she had felt from them. "I woke up in the hospital and then came here." She mumbled quietly feeling the exhaustion sweeping over her once again.

"And why weren't you healed at the hospital." Kakashi asked giving her an intense stare. Sakura averted her gaze as memories of her throwing bed pans across the room and screaming that she was a god damned medic-nin and could take care of herself flashed through her mind.

"I couldn't stand the thought of Tsunade walking in and gloating over my bed as I lay there being healed." Sakura finished sheepishly. She heard Kakashi let out an exasperated sigh and she snapped her head back to glare at him. "I'll be fine. I can fix myself in the morning when I have enough chakra. They had all ready healed the broken bones when I woke up." She concluded angrily. Kakashi left Sakura to her thoughts and she could hear water running for a bath when he returned. He picked her up in his arms going back to the bathroom and set her down gently on the edge of the tub before quickly leaving and closing the door.

She left the bathroom clean and her muscles somewhat soothed from the hot water to find some of Kakashi's clothing laid out on the bed for her. She slipped them on gratefully and looked longingly at his bed. _He won__'__t mind if I crawl into that bed will he? _She thought to herself hesitantly. Her body ached, she was exhausted, and wouldn't have the strength to walk to her apartment. She was surprised that she had managed to make it to Kakashi's without passing out in the street. Sakura debated with herself, but in the end she settled for the bed and pulled the covers tightly around her.

She felt herself being gently shaken awake and groaned slightly when she opened her eyes.

"You're going to be late for work." Kakashi muttered quietly obviously sorry that he had to wake her. Sakura nodded her head slowly and sat up gingerly feeling her stiff muscles protest as she moved. She made her way to the bathroom where she gasped at the bruises on her face and went to work immediately on removing them. It only took her a couple of minutes to seal any cuts and remove the bruises from her body, but her mind weighed heavily on her. _I__'__m sorry Sasuke. Looks like you were right about me. _Sakura could feel her throat tighten painfully while her stomach pooled into knots.

"Thanks for last night." Sakura muttered quietly when she entered the kitchen. Kakashi gave her a slight nod and turned his attention back to the fridge. "Is it ok if I borrow these to get to my apartment?" Kakashi let out a slight chuckle from her question.

"Well we couldn't have you walking around naked. People might begin to wonder about you." He said mischievously while pulling out some leftovers.

"Yeah I guess so. I'll bring them back tonight." Her voice was detached as she tried to push her emotions away from her mind.

"When do you find out your results?"

"Oh umm one week and six days. But I'm pretty sure I already know the results." She replied voice wavering slightly. Sakura quickly turned leaving the kitchen so Kakashi wouldn't see the tears gathering in her eyes. "See you later." She yelled before closing the door to his apartment.

* * *

Bunked out on the fight scenes but Sakura kicked some serious ass! Cheers

Cance


	10. Chapter 10

Sakura wandered around the hospital trying her best to conceal her emotions away from everyone. She had managed to avoid Tsunade for the whole day and only needed to do it for another five minutes and she would be safe from the Hokage's harsh comments. Sakura ignored the whimpering of her current patient and kept her eyes trained watching the hands approach two o'clock. A small sigh escaped from her lips as her shift ended and she handed the chart to the receptionist.

"I'm going home." She mumbled quietly to her.

"Oh Sakura before you leave Tsunade wants to see you in her office." The girl said cheerily to her while Sakura groaned. She made her way up the flight of stairs her heart growing heavy with each step. She knocked politely on the door before entering.

"You wanted to see me." She said coming to stop in front of her desk. Tsunade put down her pen and leaned back in her chair while giving Sakura a calculating look.

"I got a few complaints about you from the nurses yesterday." Tsunade said while quirking an eyebrow. Sakura shifted uneasily in her spot. "You fought well yesterday. Better than I expected and you should be proud. That is all." She concluded and returned to hovering over the documents in front of her. Sakura looked at her in shock but quickly left. She found Naruto waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs and she gave him a small smile.

"Hey." She muttered quietly feeling guilty for avoiding him all this time. He gave her a nod and began to walk with her in silence. "I'm sorry about how I've been acting lately. It's just hard you know."

"I know." Naruto's voice was gentle and he placed an arm over her shoulder.

"How have you been coping with all of this? It's been a week since he..." She stopped herself abruptly.

"It's been hard, but he's gone. We know these are the risks of being a ninja." He paused slightly. "I came to tell you that I was leaving for another mission tonight and I should be gone for a couple of weeks." Sakura stopped walking and looked at him in shock.

"What class of mission is it?" She asked suddenly and saw a guilty expression flicker across his face.

"It's an S class one." He muttered quietly averting his gaze from hers.

"Naruto." Sakura said desperately to him feeling the threat of tears gather at her eyes. "I won't be able to handle losing you to."

"You won't." He raised his voice angrily to her. "Have some faith in me." Naruto finished softening his voice slightly. Sakura nodded her head and felt herself pulling him into an embrace.

"Ok." She whispered quietly into his ear before releasing him. Naruto gave her a reassuring smile and continued to walk with her.

"Oh and I think you should go talk to Ino. I think she's feeling a little bit hurt that you've been avoiding her for the last little while." He finished cautiously. Sakura only nodded her head in agreement. "Right well I have to go prepare so I'll see you when I get back." Naruto muttered while giving her a hasty kiss on the forehead and running down the street.

Sakura knocked softly at Kakashi's door shifting nervously as he left it open for her to come in. She closed it behind her clutching his clothes tightly to her chest as he sat down in the chair.

"Sorry for ruining your one shirt. I tried to scrub the stains out of it, but they wouldn't come out." Sakura mumbled timidly while dropping the pile of clothes beside the leather chair. Kakashi shrugged bringing the drink to his masked lips and taking a sip. Sakura stared at him with emotions heavy on her heart. The news from Naruto had taken her by surprise and she continued to think of Sasuke's death. She ached for Kakashi to ease her pain and help her forget if only for a little while. Sakura settled herself straddling his lap and pulled the glass from his hand ignoring the puzzled look from his eye. She gulped the amber liquid feeling it burn as it trailed down her throat and the set the glass down beside her. Sakura pulled off her shirt and moved to the zipper of his vest as she nibbled on his ear. It didn't take long before she found herself being carried to the bedroom.

Sakura was amazed at how fast her and Kakashi had settled into a comfortable routine with each other. Her morning's were spent at work, where she had an unspoken truce with Tsunade, and the rest of the days and nights would be spent with Kakashi at his apartment. Sakura found that each day she was with him her pain eased. They mostly spent the days in comfortable silences and the nights tangled in each others arms. Kakashi always made breakfast for them because he was usually always up before Sakura, but there was the odd morning when she would awake to find him snuggled close to her.

"I don't understand how you can wake up so early yet are always late." She said nonchalantly while peering over her book one day. Kakashi shrugged.

"I'm not late...everybody is just early." He replied chuckling at her scathing look.

On a rainy Sunday afternoon, Sakura discovered a game of monopoly tucked away in the back of his closet.

"Why do you own a game of monopoly?" She asked blowing the inch of dust off of the box. Kakashi gave her a confused look from over top of his book. "The board game that was hidden in your closet." Sakura said a little exasperated.

"I don't know." His voice was flat and had his usual bored tone to it as he returned to reading.

"Why don't we play a game." Sakura said feeling the stir of child hood memories. Kakashi gave her an incredulous look. "Oh come on." She pleaded with him plopping down in front of him. "We can make the rules more interesting." Sakura pulled her bottom lip into a pout until Kakashi conceded.

"Fine." He sighed loudly and she gave him a wide grin. _A few hours later. Why did I agree to do this? _Sakura asked herself bitterly seeing that her piece was going to land on one of his properties with numerous houses on it. "Ohh bad luck for you. Looks like you owe me another $550." Kakashi said gleefully clapping his hands together. Sakura averted her gaze cursing under her breath.

"I don't have it." She muttered darkly and looked up to see Kakashi's eyes crinkled with a smile.

"Hmm pants." He finally mumbled and Sakura glared at him.

"Kakashi." She said exasperated.

"Hey I didn't make the rules." He replied innocently and she could see the wrinkles deepen from a wider grin she assumed. She groaned slipping off her pants and throwing it onto the mountain of clothes beside her. She had to entice him somehow, but she never thought it would come to this. _If you don__'__t have the money to pay rent then you must remove an item of clothing that the opposites player chooses. _Sakura's words echoed in her ears. _Baka why would you think of something so stupid. _She bitterly told herself. In her wisdom before starting the game she went to Kakashi's room layering herself with his extra shirts and jogging pants, but now found herself in only her bra and panties. Sakura studied the board glowering at all his properties with hotels placed on every one.

"I didn't realize you would be so good at monopoly." She said sulkily seeing his fully clothed body.

"Neither did I." His voice was mischievous as he collected $200 for passing go and added it to his pile of money beside him. Sakura rolled and let out a groan when she noticed her piece would land on Boardwalk, Kakashi's most expensive piece of property and knew the end was near. She casually stretched out her leg giving the board a swift kick scattering the pieces everywhere.

"Oh no looks like due to natural disasters, i.e. earthquake all your properties have been destroyed." Sakura said sarcastically and giggled at his crushed expression while she rose to her feet.

"You did that on purpose." He muttered quietly.

"What me?" She replied with a mock innocence before settling herself onto his lap. "I never did say I would play fair." She whispered slyly in his ear.

* * *

Wow they sure do get around to a lot of cough activities, but I guess that's what happens when you're young..and Kakashi. Enjoy.

Cance


	11. Chapter 11

Butterflies jolted in her stomach as she headed to Tsunade's office. It had been two weeks since the ANBU tests and today she would find out her results. Sakura gave her usual polite knock before entering the office and saw Tsunade seated behind her desk.

"Good morning." She called out curtly and pointed to a chair in front of her. Sakura sat down and shifted nervously waiting for her to continue. "Well let's not waste any time seeing as we are both busy people. You passed and have already been assigned your first mission." Sakura's mouth dropped open from shock.

"You're serious?" She asked disbelief ringing in her voice. Tsunade gave her a sharp look before continuing on.

"You're to go with a team to help track down the killers of Uchiha Sasuke as the medic-nin. You leave tomorrow at six. You can pick up your uniform today or tomorrow at the headquarters. Rest of the information is in that file." Tsunade concluded pointing to the corner of her desk.

"Why are you doing this?" Sakura asked quietly and saw Tsunade scrunch her face in anger.

"Seeing as you said you would do this with or without permission I decided to save you the trouble of becoming a missing nin." Tsunade replied harshly. "And because I would have done the same thing for Dan." She concluded her voice a little softer than before. "Next door you will get your tattoo and if you wouldn't mind could you stay late? Chargo called in sick." Sakura nodded and pushed herself from the chair grabbing the file. "These ninja's are extremely dangerous considering they killed Sasuke. I expect you to return here alive." Her voice was flat and conveyed no emotion as she shuffled papers on her desk. "Now get out I have six other people to see." Sakura chuckled inwardly knowing Tsunade was never good at showing her true feelings. She paused just before leaving the office.

"Thank you." Sakura heard Tsunade scoff slightly and she left with a small smile. She entered the next room timidly seeing a girl give her a toothy grin.

"Don't be shy my dear." She said cheerfully and patted the stool in front of her. Sakura nodded and sat down stiffening her body when she heard the buzz of the needle. "First tattoo?" She asked cleaning Sakura's upper shoulder. She only nodded her reply. "Well then nothing to worry about. Only hurts for the first few seconds, but considering you're apart of ANBU now it should only feel like a tickle." She concluded laughing heartily. The girl continued to talk, but Sakura was lost in the bittersweet emotions that swept over her. _What would you say to me now Sasuke? _She asked herself sadly. "All right you're finished. What do you think?" The girl asked holding a mirror up so Sakura could see the curly tattoo on her arm. Sakura let a smile escape from her lips.

"Last patient for the day. Male 34 years old with a broken arm and some ribs and probable concussion. Last examining room on the second floor." A nurse said hurriedly to Sakura as she took off down the hallway. Sakura climbed the stairs taking two at time excited at the prospect of leaving the hospital after her long day. She entered the second floor and gave the nurses a nod.

"Why did you stick him in the last room when all the others are empty?" Sakura asked puzzled at the peculiarity of it. The nurse giggled to her.

"That's the room we always stick him in when he gets hurt. Hey seeing as the rest of the floor is empty mind if I take a small break?" She asked sweetly to her.

"No go ahead." Sakura replied already travelling down the hallway. She entered the room seeing the three other beds empty and pulled back the curtain to the fourth one. Sakura dropped the chart in shock. "Kakashi?" She stuttered before shaking herself. "What happened?" She asked giving him a quizzical look as she picked up the chart from the floor.

"I thought your shift ended at two." He said quickly avoiding her gaze.

"It usually does, but I was covering for someone." She answered waiting for him to continue with his explanation. "Well." She said exasperated when Kakashi made no move to say anything.

"Well what?"

"What happened?" Sakura's voice rang out laced with annoyance.

"I fell."

"You fell?" She replied in disbelief. Kakashi nodded his head slightly. "The great Hatake Kakashi, Copy-nin of over a thousand jutsu fell." She repeated incredulously. "Fine don't tell me." Sakura said haughtily while picking up a pair of scissors from the metal tray.

"_You__'__re going to have to do better than that Genma.__"__ Kakashi smirked while he recovered his breath. Genma clutched his chest in pain and gave Kakashi a glare._

"_Shut up.__"__ He growled to him before pulling himself to stand up straight and delivering a brutal attack. Their fighting forced them into the trees above leaping from branch to branch with an extreme speed. Genma ran beside Kakashi and let a malevolent grin escape from his lips. __"__So how long have you been in love with Sakura?__"__ He asked in mid jump. Kakashi turned looking at him stunned, missing the tree branch from underneath his feet and began to feel himself fall. Before he could recover his senses Kakashi__'__s head hit a thick branch with a resounding crack and everything faded from his sight. He felt every blow to his body, but was unable to stop himself. He came to a rest with the earth beneath his chest and vision slowly coming back. Each breath pained Kakashi and he rolled over onto his back ignoring the hysterical laughter coming from Genma as he tried to focus his vision. A searing pain ran up his left arm and his head throbbed from a sharp ache. Kakashi__'__s vision slowly came back to reveal Genma rolling on the ground still laughing madly and he gingerly pushed himself up into a sitting position. _

"_How did you know?" Kakashi prompted when Genma finally sat up wiping the tears away from his eyes. _

"_I had an inkling, but that reaction confirmed all of my suspicions." He replied panting slightly from his fit of laughter. _

"_An inkling?" Kakashi groaned slightly. _

"_Yeah. I was her examiner for the ANBU tests and I noticed she was wearing your shirt, but I didn't think much of it. But man your reaction was priceless." Genma said chuckling. "So you've been tapping.." _

"_Don't." Kakashi interrupted him dangerously while rubbing the side of his head. _

"_Oh so you are sleeping with her. I understand she's hot and all, but Kakashi your ex student?" He said with emphasis on the student. Kakashi groaned slightly. "Not to mention she's...14 years your junior and the Hokage's apprentice. Oh man is she going to flip when she finds out." He concluded giddily. _

"_I know." Kakashi yelled out angrily flinching from the pain it caused to his head._

"_What are you going to do?" _

"_Nothing. Enjoy it while it lasts.__"__ Kakashi concluded somewhat bitterly. _

"_Oh. She only came to you after.__"__ Genma paused slightly._

"_Yeah.__"_

"_Well lets get you to the hospital.__"__ Genma said breaking the silence between them. _

"So I passed the tests." Sakura said casually while concentrating her chakra on Kakashi's rib.

"Good."

"And I'm leaving for my first mission tomorrow. We're going after Sasuke's killers. " She paused slightly. "Thank you for helping me. I wouldn't have accomplished this with out you." Her voice wavered slightly and she felt a twinge of grief clutch her heart. "Any more injuries?" Sakura asked stepping back. Kakashi shook his head. "Good." She muttered giving him a mischievous grin and pulled the curtain closed.

"Could you tell me where Haruno Sakura is?" Ino asked interrupting the flirting between the receptionist and Genma. The woman immediately busied herself by flipping through a dishevelled stack of papers on her desk.

"I believe the second floor since he's been the only patient admitted in the last few hours. Unusually quiet day today." She mumbled before returning her attention back to Genma and giving him a seductive smile. Ino nodded her thanks and found her feet carrying her to the second floor as anxiety ran through her. She hadn't seen or heard from Sakura for almost two weeks and worry began to set in her. She at least had other people to turn to for comfort, but with Naruto being gone Ino worried that Sakura was all alone drowning in her grief.

Ino came to a halt when she saw the empty nurses station and tapped her foot impatiently waiting. She let out an exasperated sigh being the person who doesn't like to wait and casually leaned over the counter to look at the chart laying on the desk. _Hmm lets see Hatake, Kakashi...oh what did he do now? Room 28 D. Perfect he won__'__t mind if I corner Sakura and might even back me up to. _Ino thought happily to herself as she walked down the quiet corridor. She glanced at all the rooms to see that they were indeed deserted and a little grin escaped from her lips. It only seemed like yesterday when the hospital was littered with injured people and casualties from the war, but Ino was relieved to know that the village was peaceful again. She came up to the room seeing the curtain was closed and was about to yell Sakura's name when she heard a bitten back moan followed by Kakashi's name. Ino froze and stood there in shock until she quietly slipped out of the room upon deciding that she didn't want to listen to their activities. She chose the room furthest from them slipping inside and cursing under her breath from the shock.

_She__'__s killing me. _Kakashi groaned inwardly to himself as he saw Genma flirting shamelessly with the attractive receptionist. He cleared his throat slightly and the receptionist tore her gaze from Genma with a slight blush on her face.

"Mr. Hatake you're all healed I see." She said a little breathlessly eyeing his muscular arms. Sakura had cut off his shirt earlier saying it would be easier then trying to pull it off with a broken arm. He finally conceded and now only wore his green vest. Kakashi only nodded while she busied herself with the paper work.

"I see you're still here." Kakashi said coolly to Genma, who let out a large grin.

"Well we still have to finish our training session. You took a little longer then I expected." He said pausing slightly. "But I had this beautiful lady to keep me company." Genma replied with a slight smirk. The receptionists blushed deepened.

"Um can you sign here?" She asked shyly while pushing a stack of papers to him.

"You'll never guess who I saw come in here." Genma muttered casually while leaning against the desk watching Kakashi flip through the various papers lazily. "Yamanaka, Ino." A grin slipped from his lips when he saw Kakashi stop briefly. "Yeah about fifteen minutes ago looking for Miss. Haruno and she made her way up to the second floor." Genma swore he heard a slight groan as Kakashi handed the stack of papers back to the receptionist.

"Do you have your slip confirming that it was an injury from training?" She asked and continued when Kakashi made no reply. "If the doctor does not sign and confirm that it was indeed due to training then you will have to cover for the expenses yourself." She finished quietly.

"I forgot it." Kakashi finally muttered.

"Oh well Sakura can give."

"I'll get it." Kakashi interrupted her and scowled at the smirk on Genma's face before leaving. His heart was beating faster than usual as he saw the nurses station still empty and quietly slipped down the hall to the last room.

"Oh Ino you scared me." Sakura's voice called out when Kakashi heard the curtain being pulled back. "Um something I can help you with?" She asked puzzled after the long silence.

"Here I am all worried that you're pushing everyone away making yourself isolated and going to slit your wrists or something stupid while wallowing in your grief for Sasuke's death." Ino finally hissed. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked desperately.

"Tell you what?" Kakashi could hear the confusion in Sakura's voice.

"About you and Kakashi." Ino finally muttered quietly. Kakashi's breath caught in his throat as he cursed to himself.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sakura blurted out a little to quickly.

"Don't lie to me. I saw you together in this very room." Ino yelled harshly to her. Kakashi could feel the tension slipping out of the room in the long silence that followed. "How long?" She muttered quietly.

"The night of Sasuke's death." Sakura mumbled bleakly. Kakashi heard a sharp intake of breath.

"Oh."

"No it's not like that." Sakura muttered quickly to Ino. "I needed someone to comfort me as dumb as that sounds and he was the first person I turned to." She paused and Kakashi could hear the hint of grief in her tone. "He helps me to forget and dulls the pain." Sakura finally finished.

"Do you." Ino paused and Kakashi held his breath anticipating her next question. "Do you love him?"

"No." He heard Sakura's voice ring out immediately after the question with a finality in it. Kakashi exhaled the breath he had been holding as he felt disappointment tickle the back of his mind. He wouldn't wholly admit it to himself, but he had hoped Sakura felt something for him other than the need to stop her pain. He slipped away quietly hearing all that he needed to.

"Did you get what you needed?" Genma asked while brushing a blond lock of hair away from the receptionists face while she giggled. Kakashi gave him a slight nod.

"I'll just need you to sign it quickly." She mumbled quietly to Kakashi not taking her eyes of off Genma.

"I didn't get it. Couldn't find her." Kakashi muttered. His voice was blank and flat as he saw Genma nod his head in understanding.

"Oh I'll just leave a note for Elise since I'm off in five." She replied trying to stifle the giggles. Kakashi gave a slight nod to Genma as he brushed passed him heading towards the exit.

"What we aren't going to finish our training session?" Genma asked with a mock disappointment. Kakashi ignored him. "Perfect. Now I can take this little lady out for drinks." He finished devilishly. Kakashi ignored the giggles from the receptionist as he left the building.

Sakura shifted nervously in the dark outside Kakashi's apartment door as her hand gripped the cool steel of the door handle. She turned it and a small wave of relief flooded her senses as she stepped inside and closed the door quietly behind her. It was about one in the morning and she had just finished memorizing all the details to her mission when she found herself outside his door. Sakura silently crept into Kakashi's room noting his heavy breathing and slipped off her clothes before crawling into bed with him. A small sigh of relief escaped her lips when he did not stir and she settled beside him resting her head on his smooth chest. Her mind raced and Sakura closed her eyes seeing her friends harsh face in her mind.

"_Do you...Do you love him?__"_

"_No.__"__ Sakura immediately replied and halted when she saw Ino__'__s face. She crossed her arms defiantly while narrowing her eyes dangerously at Sakura. She shuddered slightly and knew that Ino would see through any untruthful answers. She often wondered how Ino was always able to decipher her feelings before she would even come to realize them. After a long silence Sakura continued. __"__I don__'__t know. Maybe.__"__ She concluded dejectedly. _

"_Well what__'__s the problem?__"__ Ino asked surprised and softened her features. Sakura kept her eyes glued to the floor. __"__You feel that you__'__re betraying Sasuke don__'__t you?__"__ Ino finally asked. __"__Almost guilty if you found that your heart was able to move on so easily. Sakura let me give you a piece of advice. Sasuke__'__s dead. You can__'__t keep holding yourself back, because you__'__re going to wake up one day an old lady and wonder where your life went.__"__ Sakura could feel Ino__'__s arms wrapping around her as she was pulled into a hug with hot tears running down her cheeks. _

"_I know, but I just keep thinking if I hold on he will appear around the corner as if nothing ever happened. It__'__s silly I know. But I don__'__t know how I feel about Kakashi. It__'__s different from anything I__'__ve ever felt before. I don__'__t know if any of it__'__s real.__"__ Sakura muttered quietly while pulling out of the embrace and wiping the tears from her face. __"__And he is my ex-sensei not to mention...14 years older than me. It__'__s so taboo.__"__ She finally finished. Ino scoffed loudly._

"_So what. Go to him tonight and don't put up any barriers around yourself. Figure out what you truly feel for him Sakura." Ino concluded confidently before a sly grin graced her face. "So how is he...you know." _

"_Ino." Sakura shouted in disbelief._

"_Oh come on. I've always wondered what it would be like to sleep with him. What does he look like?" She asked excitement twitching in her voice. _

"_I don't know." Sakura continued when she saw the confused look on Ino's face. "I always have a blindfold on." She finished somewhat sheepishly. _

"_Oh, kind of kinky I guess. So how would you rate him?" Ino prompted rather harshly._

"_Well I've only slept with one man, but he's" Sakura paused feeling a blush stain her cheeks. "He's good. Really really good." She mumbled quietly and giggled at the look of glee on Ino's face._

"_That__'__s one of the perks of sleeping with a man and not some fumbling twenty year old.__"__ Ino finished darkly before returning to giggling with Sakura. _

The giggles echoed in Sakura's mind as she debated with herself. _Ok no barriers. _She finally concluded to herself and placed the familiar black cloth over her eyes. She only had one desire coursing through her veins and that was to feel his lips against hers. Her hands trembled slightly as they found their way to Kakashi's mask and slowly slid it down. Sakura tried to quell her anxiety, but they hadn't kissed since her first night there. Her finger lightly traced his upper lip as she tried to sort through the overwhelming emotions she finally decided to acknowledge. Sakura didn't know what she was feeling, butall she wanted was one kiss from him. She held her breath, hoping she wouldn't wake him and gently pressed her lips against his. Something soothed inside of her and she felt a peace settle over her heart for a moment. She smiled lightly against Kakashi's lips and drew back slowly hands already sliding the mask back up to its regular place. Sakura gasped slightly as she felt herself being rolled onto the bed hand pressed firmly into the mattress and his weight settling comfortably on top of her. Her breath quickened with anticipation yearning for another kiss. It was sweet and gentle and Kakashi ran his calloused fingers over her smooth cheek causing her to shiver.

"I want to see those beautiful green eyes." Kakashi whispered into her ear and she could feel the cloth slipping from her eyes. Sakura opened her eyes slowly focusing on Kakashi's intense gaze and she let her finger trace the long scar on his left eye while letting her gaze wander over the rest of his face. He certainly was handsome and the scar was the only thing that marred his beautiful face, but it's presence gave him an undeniable strength she admitted to herself. Sakura traced that scar with light butterfly kisses and lingered in front of Kakashi's lips. If she continued, she knew she would be crossing an invisible boundary within herself never able to go back, but Sakura looked at him feeling an insatiable craving. She kissed Kakashi pouring all of her unspoken and hidden emotions into the kiss and he returned it.

Sakura awoke to being clutched tightly in Kakashi's arms and she let a small smile grace her lips. She slipped from his grasp slowly and turned to study his beautiful face and body. He was sleeping peacefully and she was mesmerized by his expression. It was calm yet seemed to hold a devilish smirk to it even while he slept. Sakura's eyes slipped over every muscle and she fought the urge to trace over every scar she came across. He was lean and muscular designed for both agility and strength and Sakura found herself blushing with all the thoughts of what she had done to that body. She slipped out of the bed rather unwillingly and began to bury all emotions feeling her doubts and worries flood back to her. She had to settle everything with Sasuke first, before she would allow herself to move on. Sakura gave him one last look her chest tightening slightly and left racing to the front gates to meet her new team.

* * *

I got inspired to write this while avoiding my studying. Hope you like it.

Cance


	12. Chapter 12

It had been a month since Sakura left the front gates of Konoha village for her mission and her body was beginning to break under the constant strain. They had been ordered to recover the forbidden scroll that had been stolen off of Sasuke's body at any cost and found themselves entering into Grass country territory in the pursuit of the three ninjas they tracked. They had come close to ending this many times before, but the enemy always seemed to slip from their grasp much to Sakura's frustrations. She had grown cold and harsh with thoughts of revenge consuming her every waking moment. She rarely spoke to her two other team members, but neither party seemed to mind.

Sakura could remember her feelings of anxiety when she had first met them at the gates not recognizing a single face. They had recently lost their medic-nin and had no interest in getting to know a newbie who would surely die on this mission. But she had surprised them including herself when they had been ambushed and she managed to fatally wound many of their enemies and save one of her own team mates from death. Now her team was indifferent to her presence.

The rain had soaked through her uniform and Sakura shivered, but she didn't know if it was from the cold or the anticipation that coursed through her body. From the amount of blood that they were following it looked like Horun had fatally wounded one of the trio they were after. Saijou pulled up his hand, commanding them to stop and Sakura could see a man slumped against a tree blood pooling beneath him.

"What are your plans for the forbidden scroll?" Sakura could see the man lift his head and a malevolent smile graced his lips, but he remained silent. "Give us information and your death will be painless." Saijou continued. She heard the man let out a hollow laugh.

"Why do you think I am still alive?" He laughed again pushing himself from the ground and panted heavily from the effort.

"He doesn't know anything." Saijou muttered darkly to Horun and began to unsheathe his katana. Sakura quickly placed her hand on his and Saijou gave her a small nod. She came to stand in front of him and removed her mask shaking her wet pink hair from her face.

"I have a question for you." Sakura hissed to the injured man watching his every move. "Which one of you killed the Uchiha?" She kept her voice steady suppressing the anger she felt when he gave her a greasy smile.

"What is your name?" He asked slowly clutching his wound on his stomach. Sakura narrowed her jade eyes angrily at him. "Could it possibly be Sakura?" Her eyes widened slightly in surprise and the man let out a malicious laugh. "How sweet. You've come to avenge your lovers death." He spat out menacingly. "How does it make you feel to know that in his lasts moments he thought of you and pathetically begged for his life? Begged Kagoshi to spare his life like a coward." Something snapped in Sakura and she drew her katana and drove it through the man's chest. She felt him splutter blood onto her neck while his breath grew ragged and she heard him laugh slightly before slumping onto her dead. His hot blood stained her hands as she removed the katana and pushed him to the ground. Horun handed her a cloth and she wiped the blood from her neck and hands then finally cleaned her sword. Sakura tossed the blood stained cloth onto his body before turning to her team mates. Saijou gave her a small nod and quickly sped off into the forest signalling for them to follow. She hung back slightly and felt her lust for blood grow deeper.

The rain had finally stopped and the clouds cleared to reveal a starry night sky and Saijou halted in a small clearing ordering the rest of the team to stop.

"What's the matter?" Sakura asked breathlessly coming to a stand beside him.

"Nothing. We are setting up camp for the night." He replied calmly slinging his bag off his shoulder. Sakura looked at him in disbelief feeling the enemy slip further from her grasp. "We all need rest including you. They will be there tomorrow to kill as well." He finished darkly seeing the look on her face. She nodded her head in agreement feeling her body ache with pain.

Sakura settled around the small fire vaguely listening to the mutterings of the two men while she ate. She could feel her eyelids growing dangerously heavy and found herself resting comfortably against a tree until she heard a twig snap behind her. She wheeled around in surprise to see three ninjas approaching, but was relieved when she saw the familiar uniforms. She turned her attention back to the fire when one of the men began to remove his mask.

"Izumo, Kotetsu, and Kakashi. What happened to your fourth?" Saijou asked lazily and Sakura immediately stiffened at hearing Kakashi's name.

"Sent him back to deliver some information for us. What are you guys doing way out here?" Izumo asked while taking a seat by the fire and Sakura watched Kakashi lean against a tree.

"The bastards we're tracking are proving more difficult then we first suspected." Horun muttered darkly. Sakura could feel a familiar ache seep into her chest as she watched him from the corner of her eye but he didn't acknowledge her.

"I'll take the last shift." Sakura mumbled quietly before slipping away to her tent to quell the emotions that were beginning to rise in her. She found herself slipping into an uneasy sleep.

Sakura heard Horun call out her name and sat up shivering from the cold that took hold of her. She rubbed her eyes feeling them sting from the lack of sleep and slipped out of her tent. "The other group what happened to them?" She asked quietly studying their small camp.

"They all ready left." Horun replied trying to suppress a yawn. Sakura gave him a small nod feeling her heart drop a little and watched him crawl into his tent before rolling up her own.

_Only four hours till sunrise. _She told herself glumly shivering from the cold. She continually found her mind wandering to Kakashi and chastised herself harshly. Throughout her whole mission she had kept her thoughts only on avenging Sasuke's death and had successfully ignored any feelings that she had about Kakashi. Sakura decided that she would deal with them if she made it back to the village alive, but seeing Kakashi and how he ignored her hurt her more than she was willing to acknowledge. _One more hour and we'll leave. _They were so close to finishing this Sakura could taste it on the tip of her tongue. She longed for this to be over because she was tired of holding onto something that was no longer there. Sakura tipped her head back closing her eyes and allowed her mind to wander imagining the feel of Kakashi's arms around her.

"Sleeping on the job, now that just won't do." A malicious voice whispered into her ear while pressing the edge of a blade into Sakura's neck. She opened her eyes slowly to feel the mans hot breaths curling in her ear. "I wonder how sweet your blood tastes?" A grin escaped from his lips as he pressed the blade harder into her throat.

"Behind you." A voice whispered. The man widened his eyes in shock, but Sakura had all ready stabbed a kunai into the side of his chest and gathered her chakra to her foot using it to send him flying through the air. Sakura's clone disappeared as he brutally crashed into a tree causing it to crack loudly. "Saijou." Sakura yelled as she crossed the distance to the man sprawled on the ground. He stumbled to his feet and Sakura withdrew the katana from its sheath. "Where is Kagoshi?" She asked him harshly seeing Saijou and Horun emerging from their tents.

Sakura felt herself being torn from the ground and her body slammed forcefully into a tree. She fell to the earth and the outer edges of her vision began to fade to black. Sakura gasped for air while slowly pulling herself to stand feeling her knees shake violently and a ringing in her ears from the impact. She could see Saijou leaning onto a tree for support and Horun sprawled on the ground a few feet away. A flicker of movement caught her attention and Sakura turned to see the man, who she had attacked earlier, sprinting towards Horun with his weapon drawn. _MOVE! _Sakura screamed to herself and concentrated her chakra to her legs. She was behind him in a second ready to attack when he turned slicing his weapon through the air. She stumbled slightly feeling the tip of the blade cut through her uniform as he jumped out of the radius of her attack. Sakura came to a halt beside Horun dropping to her knees and rolling him gently onto his back as Saijou came to stand in front of them. She checked his pulse relieved to feel that it was strong and his breathing was normal._ Great time for you to be unconscious. _She bitterly thought to herself as she came to stand by Saijou preparing to attack.

Another man emerged into the clearing smirking and Sakura felt her breath catch in her chest."I think it's time we end this game." He muttered darkly to them and Sakura could see Saijou sway slightly beside her. _I need to buy us some time. _She thought desperately to herself.

"What it's no longer fun for you?" She asked, the ringing in her ears disappearing slowly. "I thought it was just starting to get interesting."

"We've been at this long enough and now that I've found a buyer I don't need this entertainment anymore." Kagoshi concluded with a bored tone.

"We all know you're just a pawn in a much larger scheme." Sakura yelled out knowing that Sasuke was after his leader.

"But aren't we all?" He asked with a smirk. Sakura saw Saijou give her a slight nod.

"I'm going after Kagoshi." She muttered quietly to him while gathering chakra to her foot. She slammed it into the earth causing it to crack almost consuming the startled men in front of her and leaped into the air bringing her katana down on Kagoshi's head. He blocked it easily and sprang away from her jumping into the trees. Sakura cursed and followed him only catching glimpses of him ahead of her. _Damn it he__'__s to fast. _She thought desperately to herself feeling her revenge slip from her grasp yet again. She felt something tear through her right shoulder and stumbled down to the ground breathing heavily.

"What's the matter. You can't be finished all ready." She saw Kagoshi land in front of her with a smirk on his face. "I was hoping to have a bit of fun with you before I killed you." Sakura pressed her hand firmly to her shoulder feeling her blood seep through her fingers and let a smile escape from her lips. _Good looks like I will get my chance after all. _She drew her katana and charged him slashing it through the air while bringing her fist charged with chakra to his chest. She felt his bones crack under her force and sent him flying through the air to crash into the trees.

Sakura could feel the pain shooting through her right arm, but didn't want to waste any of her chakra on healing her wound. She watched Kagoshi stand up smiling as he wiped the blood away from the corner of his mouth.

"You're not much like your friend. He begged for his life, pleading pathetically to me. Said he would tell us anything we wanted as I drove this katana through his heart." Sakura said watching his expression sour and congratulated herself on wiping the smile from his face. She saw a blur of movement and instinctually raised her katana to block his swing. "Oh does that anger you to know your friend was a coward before death?" She asked malicious intent clear in her voice. Kagoshi gave her a low growl and narrowed his eyes in a scowl at her. They flew into a frenzy of attacks metal clashing loudly through the forest as she felt her strength and chakra slowly draining from her. Sakura felt her heart grow heavy as she realized there was no other way for her to win this fight. She felt the handle of her katana slip from her hands as cool steel pierced through her flesh with a searing pain and she could her a malicious laugh ring in her ears.

"You were better then I expected." Kagoshi said quietly to her and Sakura looked up at him. She concentrated her chakra to long sharp points to the tips of her fingers and thrust them through his neck seeing his expression turn to surprise. He coughed spluttering Sakura's face with droplets of blood and she could hear a gurgling in his throat as he choked on his own blood. His grip loosened on the hilt of the katana and she released her chakra panting heavily as he fell to the ground. She pulled the katana from her with a cry of pain before plunging it deep into Kagoshi's heart and watched as his eyes glazed over.

Sakura dropped to her knees clutching her wound and could feel her life drain with the blood leaving her body. She fell on to her back breathing heavily trying to focus her chakra on her wound, but she didn't have enough. A tear slipped from her eye as the familiar metallic scent curled in her nostrils with the hot liquid pooling underneath her and blackness encroached her vision. _Maybe it's better this way. _Sakura mumbled hazily to herself as her vision darkened. She could see the faint outline of someone coming to stand over her. "Sasuke." She breathed before letting the blackness consume her.

* * *

I made up Sakura's ninja team and enemy because I couldn't really find anyone from the show to match well with this minor roll. Hope people don't get to mad at me.

Cance


	13. Chapter 13

"Why would you let her go on such a dangerous mission?" Naruto yelled angrily to Tsunade and she narrowed her eyes in response.

"It's not like I had any say in the matter." She replied coolly. "She was going to do it either way." Naruto shuddered in anger.

"You're the god damn Hokage and you're telling me you couldn't do anything?" He continued yelling. "And YOU!" He turned his attention to Sakura and pointed an accusing finger at her. "Why the hell would you do something so stupid?" Naruto's face had gone a shade of red and vein throbbed at the side of his forehead. Sakura scowled at him.

"So what you're allowed to do S-class missions, but I can't do anything dangerous?" Sakura yelled pulling the blankets off her trying to get out of the hospital bed.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ino asked dangerously while pushing Sakura back into the bed. She heard Naruto scoff and threw him a venomous glare.

"I wasn't nearly killed on any of those missions. You're lucky to be alive." He bellowed crossing his arms defiantly.

"You were the one who told me these were the risks of being a ninja." Sakura screeched trying pull herself out of bed again.

"For christ's sake Sakura. STAY IN BED!" Ino hollered furiously pushing her back down into the bed.

"I'M FINE INO!" Sakura yelled trying to push Ino's hands from her arms. Naruto opened his mouth to yell again.

"EVERYBODY OUT NOW." Tsunade barked ushering Naruto and Ino out of the room and slamming the door. Sakura could see the door vibrate from Naruto's continual pounding and heard his repeated curses until a nurse came scolding him thoroughly. She heard a yelp in pain and imagined he was having his ear grabbed while being dragged down the hallway.

Sakura's chest rose painfully fast and her fists were clenched tightly into the blankets around her from the anger that Naruto had stirred in her. "I should've known Naruto would cause such a fuss." Tsunade muttered darkly to herself. Sakura let out a snort and twitched from the pain it caused to her muscles. All her wounds had been healed, but she was weak and her body ached with a constant dull pain. Tsunade sat down in the chair beside the bed and waited for Sakura's breathing to return to normal before she continued. "Ah yes before Naruto came in I was going to tell you what happened. Saijou defeated the third ninja receiving minor injuries and Horun had become conscious during his fight. They said when they found you your pulse was weak and you had obviously lost a lot of blood. They bandaged you up as best they could and decided to take you to the nearest village to be healed when they noticed they were being followed. It appeared they were after the forbidden scroll. Saijou decided to take the scroll and lead the enemy away and Horun was ordered to take you to the nearest hospital. They were amazed that you had even made it through the day with your wounds." Tsunade paused slightly leaning back comfortably in the chair. "While Horun was at the hospital you were attacked again by the same group from before. It seems that they were followers of Kagoshi and wanted your groups blood more than anything else. Horun managed to escape with you unscathed and caught up with Saijou. They decided it wasn't safe to stop anywhere for you to be healed and made their way here from Grass country in a total of three days taking the chance that you would survive." Tsunade finished with a bored tone to her voice allowing the information to settle in Sakura's mind.

"It would have been easier for them if they just left me." She said somewhat bitter at causing so many problems for them.

"Yes, but I don't think they would've been able to handle losing another medic-nin. They had been extremely close with their last one and blame themselves for her death. I'm curious how did you defeat Kagoshi?" She asked casually, but Sakura could hear a hint of excitement.

"I let him stab me." Sakura replied nonchalantly and leaned back against the wall closing her eyes when she saw Tsunade's blank expression. "I knew the only way for me to get close enough to kill him was if he thought he had won and dropped his guard allowing me to make my move." She concluded and shivered slightly remembering the empty darkness that had swallowed her whole. Sakura heard the scrape of a chair and looked to see Tsunade leaving the room, but paused at the door.

"I'll tell the nurses to not let Naruto disturb you and you can leave tomorrow. Naruto was right you really are luck to be alive. Seems you have something to live for." Tsunade said nonchalantly and left the room.

"What the hell does that mean?" Sakura asked inanely, but could already feel the back of her mind tickling her with an answer. She let out a small sigh of contentment as exhaustion swept over her and she closed her eyes waiting for sleep to over come her. Her eyes snapped open and a startled gasp escaped from her throat. "Saijou, Horun don't scare me like that." Sakura said angrily giving them a slight glare.

"Glad to see you're ok." Horun chuckled slightly.

"Well that's thanks to you two." Sakura replied giving them a small smile. "Thank you for everything that you did. I'm sorry I was such a bother though." Her voice was small and full of shame. Saijou gave her a cold nod and turned leaving the room.

"Oh don't worry about that. He likes you, but he's a hard person to get to know." Horun said when he saw Sakura's hurt expression. She nodded noting Horun had always been the friendlier of the two and had been nice to her after she saved his life. "So when you getting out of here?"

"Tomorrow. Tsunade insists that I rest." Sakura replied sullenly and crossed her arms defiantly.

"Yeah it's probably for the best. She almost took our heads for the condition we brought you back in." Horun chuckled again. "I'll let you rest now. Be seeing you around." He gave a small wave and smile before leaving the room. She smiled and slipped back into the bed falling asleep.

Sakura bounded down the steps happy that she was out of the hospital and saw Naruto waiting in his usual spot. She gave him a venomous glare before coming to stop in front of him. "I don't need to hear any lectures from you." She groused angrily to him jabbing a finger into his chest.

"Ow I know." He said through clenched teeth brushing away her hand. "I came to tell you..." He paused turning his head and Sakura could see that same vein throbbing from his forehead. "That you were right." He grumbled sullenly. Sakura gaped at him in shock. "You're a good ninja and I should put faith into your abilities like you do mine. But next time give me a little bit of warning before you do something like that." Naruto muttered angrily. Sakura continued to stare at him in shock. Usually Naruto was so dense and pushed his way of view until you pummelled him.

"Lets go grab some lunch at Ichiraku. My treat." Sakura said sweetly to him giving him a smile.

The familiar clang of a bell rang out as Sakura walked into a flower shop seeing Ino perched lazily on the counter. She casually made her way through the store eyeing every flower she passed until stopping in front of Ino. Her and Naruto were back on good terms all ready but she didn't know how long it would take with Ino.

"Hey." Sakura casually said while eyeing some hydrangeas in the corner. She heard Ino scoff.

"You really are a jerk you know." Ino huffed angrily. "Oh I've been assigned a mission so I'll be gone for a little awhile." Ino said repeating Sakura's exact words with a fake innocence. "You forgot to mention that you joined ANBU and were going after Sasuke's killers." She finished angrily.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry about me. I really didn't know if I would be coming back here alive." Sakura mumbled feeling the guilt seep into her mind. "I'm sorry." She heard Ino let out a heavy sigh.

"You are forgiven, but ever do that again and I'll kill you." Ino finished dangerously. Sakura gave her a small smile before walking over to the bunch of daffodils and she felt her chest hitch with pain slightly. She sorted through them before choosing one that she thought was perfect and brought it to the counter. "What do you need that for?" Ino asked curiously.

"I need to say goodbye to an old friend." Sakura replied sadly and Ino nodded her head in understanding.

She found herself standing in front of Sasuke's grave sadness encroaching her mind. "Who knows how things would've ended up if you were still alive. But I think it's time I let go of what we could of had. I still love you and always will." Her voice was quiet and wavered slightly as she placed the flower on his grave giving it one last look before turning and leaving all her regrets and doubts with him.

Sakura knocked heavily on Kakashi's door feeling the flutter of butterflies in her stomach. She had decided to tell him how she felt and prayed that he had developed some feelings for her as well. A vision of seeing him on her mission flashed through her mind and she shuddered slightly. He had acted so cold towards her and she swallowed hard trying to quell her anxiety.

"He's not back yet dear." An old lady called out sweetly to her as she hobbled towards the step. "Won't be back for a couple of days I suspect. Could you hand me his mail?" She asked pointing to Kakashi's small metal mail box and Sakura obliged handing the jumble of letters to her. "Did you want me to give him a message?"

"Oh umm no thanks. I'll just catch him when he comes back." She mumbled disappointment ringing in her voice.

Sakura paced in her living room anxiety high vaguely listening to the ramblings of Naruto about Hinata and his problems. It had been four days since she went to Kakashi's apartment and he still had not returned home. Worry had began to set in and she found her mind envisioning him bloodied and mangled dead on his mission. She shook herself saying he would not die so easily.

"Sakura...Sakura...SAKURA!"

"WHAT?" She yelled at Naruto stopping to glare at him.

"Well what should I do?" He asked cautiously seeing her expression. Sakura let out an exasperated sigh before telling herself to calm down.

"Simple. Stop being an ass." She replied incredulously to him. Naruto narrowed his blue eyes into a scowl.

"What's wrong?" He finally asked.

"Nothing."

"Yeah right. You've been snapping at everyone these past few days." He muttered darkly as he stood up.

"It ugh...nothing." Sakura mumbled feeling guilty for her behaviour.

"Fine. I'm going to Hinata's to stop acting like an ass." Naruto said sarcastically. "I'll see you later." And closed the door with a sharp tap. Sakura let out another sigh.

"You need to calm down." She told herself darkly and began to pace in her living room again. Her stomach growled and she went to her fridge only to slam the door when she saw nothing edible. "No you need to get out of here." She muttered angrily and pulled herself out of her apartment.

She found herself oddly calmer outside with a slight breeze blowing through her hair and the sun shining harshly. Sakura bumped into the odd person as she made her way across the busy street to a fruit stand where she was tempted by all the delicious looking fruit. She picked up a peach and squeezed it gently to find it was perfectly ripe and inhaled it's perfect sweet fragrance. She stopped eyes widening slightly as she sensed a familiar chakra and turned to see his spiky silver hair through the crowded street. Sakura felt relieved to see him home then immediately anxious knowing what she was planning to do. Her hands trembled as she replaced the peach while a knot formed in her throat and she turned to see that he was about to pass by her.

"Kakashi." She called out only to see his attention remain on the road in front of him. _Maybe he didn__'__t hear me. _She thought desperately to herself as she called out his name louder. Nothing. Her heart sank and she found herself stepping in front of him putting her hand up to his chest so he would stop. Sakura could feel the warmth of his body seeping through his clothes and she had the urge to wrap her legs tight around his waist and kiss him. She pulled back her hand immediately as if his very skin burned her and dropped her gaze to the ground. "Glad to see you home." She mumbled quietly fighting the urge to pull him into an embrace. Sakura studied him seeing that his clothes were dirty and he looked tired and worn from his mission, but his gaze made her breath catch in her chest. It was blank and he seemed to be staring past her. Her throat tightened painfully as she tried to speak. "Um we need to talk, but after you go home first of course." Sakura added quickly and continued when Kakashi stayed silent. "We can meet at that small restaurant close to my place at six." She mumbled and saw him give her a small nod before stepping out of her way and continuing down the street.

888

Kakashi felt something tighten in his chest when he saw her eyeing up some peaches at a fruit stand. His mind flashed to the last time he saw her.

_Something just didn__'__t feel right to Kakashi when he left her camp in the morning with his group. It gnawed on the back of his mind and made him twitch uncomfortably as he sped through the forest. He just needed to check on her once to make sure she was ok and his mind could rest in peace. It had taken everything in him last night to not sweep her into his arms when he saw her, but he knew better. She couldn__'__t afford a distraction because they often ended up getting you killed. He heard her painful cry echo through the forest and his blood froze with fear. A painful knot formed in his throat when he saw her lying in her own blood, chest rising heavily with each breath and he thanked god that she was still alive. He came to stand over her seeing her precious face splattered with blood and his heart ached when she whispered __**his **__name. He felt guilty for wanting her to stay with him, but prayed all the same begging for her to live. He saw her team mates shocked faces when he explained what happened and handed her gently to Horun asking them to hurry and save her. He left requesting they leave this out their report and sped off back to his mission heart heavy with fear and sadness. _

He was surprised to feel her hand on his chest snapping his thoughts from his mind and ached to press every inch of him against her. He saw the way she withdrew her hand from him and his chest tightened in pain. The tone of her voice confirmed what he had been thinking. _She__'__s ending it. But that__'__s ok as long as she__'__s alive it doesn__'__t matter. _He nodded his head in response because he knew his voice would betray him and ached further as he remembered the feel of her sweet lips against his skin knowing he would never feel them again.

888

"INO." Sakura hollered as she came skidding to a halt in her apartment ignoring the pain in her chest. She could hear her friend bounding down the stairs and come to a halt in front of her.

"What's the matter?" She asked slightly panting.

"He barely even acknowledged me. How am I supposed to tell him I love him now?" Sakura asked hearing her voice waver and tears gathering at her eyes. Ino scrunched her face in confusion for a moment.

"He came back? When did you talk to him?" She asked while pulling her friend into the living room to sit on the couch.

"Just a few moments ago. He looked like he just came back from his mission and I ran into him on the street. It went badly." Sakura stuttered taking deep breaths and suppressing the tears.

"How do you know?" Ino asked confused.

"Because the whole time I had to keep myself from tearing off his clothes in the middle of the street and he barely even looked at me." She mumbled averting her gaze. "What if what I thought wasn't true? What if he was only in it for the sex?" Her voice wavered again as her heart sank deep into her chest.

"He did show you his face before you left right?" Ino asked shaking Sakura slightly. She nodded slowly. "Well then that counts for something. Men are stupid you know. Sometimes they just need to be reminded of what they could have and you Sakura are in luck because this is my area of expertise." Ino said gleefully with a particularly evil glint in her eye.

Butterflies flittered in Sakura's stomach as she walked nervously to the restaurant. She felt nauseous and ignored the gawking of the men as she told herself she would rather go through all of last month again then have to do this. To distract herself she ran through what Ino had told her to do. _Show up late. Got that covered. _Sakura thought bitterly to herself as she noted she was 45 minutes late, but considering this was Kakashi he was probably just arriving. _Wear something provocative. _Sakura shuddered when she remembered the fight that ensued for an hour and a half over what she was going to wear. She had finally settled for a white summer dress with pink petals that looked innocent enough but hugged all the right curves. Her mind halted when she saw a familiar corner and knew who would be waiting for her around it or at least she hoped he would be. Sakura held her breath as she came around the corner and peered down the street. She sighed slightly letting a smile grace her lips as she saw him, slouched with his hands in his pockets leaning against the wall. _Well he__'__s there so that__'__s a good sign. _She told herself feeling her body tense as a new anxiety settled in her. His back was turned to her and Sakura fought the urge to yell out his name when she felt a hand wrap around hers and stop her gently. Her face scowled as she turned to yell, but her eyes widened in shock and her heart stopped.

"Hello Sakura." She clasped her mouth and could feel tears sting her eyes.

"Sasuke." Sakura whispered in disbelief. She felt her hand drop to her side as a flood of emotions swept over her. "You're alive." She looked into his eyes and felt a dull ache in her chest. She saw him give a slight nod and turned to see Kakashi shocked. He shook himself slightly before giving his customary wave and saw him turn to make his way down the street. Sakura brought her attention back to Sasuke and anger swelled inside of her. She felt her hand sting with pain from the force of her slap and yelled at him. "Why would you do that to me?" She asked angrily and felt a hot tear slip from her cheek. Sakura wiped it away not allowing anymore to fall and wrapped her arms tightly around him. "A part of me died with you that day." She whispered sadly and listened to the sound of his heart soothing her.

"I'm sorry." His voice was calm, but Sakura knew he truly meant it as his arms tangled behind her. "I was badly injured that day by Kagoshi and we decided to use it to our advantage. We made it appear like I had died that day to help with the mission." He pulled back slightly and cupped Sakura's face in his hands. "I never expected you to do what you did." His voice was gentle and she felt her knees shake slightly. Sasuke's hands dropped to her shoulders as he rested his forehead on hers. "I'm sorry I never saw how truly strong you were. I think I've wasted enough of our time." Sakura felt her knees buckle at his words and pulled him into another embrace. She released and felt his arm slip over her shoulders as he began to lead her away.

"Wait." Sakura called out and pulled herself from his grasp. "I..." She faltered feeling her heart ache at the words that were going to pour from her mouth. "I'm sorry." She kept her jade eyes on his not willing to look away. "But I can't be with you. Please don't hate me." She turned from Sasuke all thoughts on Kakashi as she walked away from him. Sasuke had told her everything she had craved to hear, but it was no longer what she desired. Her heart had changed and somewhere along the way Kakashi had nestled himself deep within her and she wanted him to feel the same about her. Sakura could feel herself becoming anxious when she turned the corner and saw him walking slowly down the street. Her heart beat painfully fast as she approached him and her mind wandered with all the possible outcomes, but she only wanted one. She felt her fingers entwine with his as she came to walk beside him and kept her gaze ahead of her scared to see his reaction.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked surprised, but didn't remove his hand. Sakura swallowed hard trying to remove the knot from her throat.

"Going home with you." She replied casually trying to keep her voice as steady as possible. She felt his grip tighten on hers and all doubts were gone. Sakura turned giving him a smile knowing that this was where she belonged.

* * *

Ohh what fluff, but I love it! Just a quick note though. During Kakashi's flashback the **his **is referring to Sasuke's name. Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it.

Cance


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